Suffer With Me
by Panda Bear Lover 317
Summary: After finally getting a girlfriend, things began to look up for Leo... but their night gets cut short when Skids and Mudflap decide to take their "guardianship" a step further by revealing their past. Sit down, folks! There's a story to tell.
1. First Time For Everything

**Hi, everybody! For those who aren't familiar with me, I'm Panda Bear Lover 317. Some call me PBL, or Darwin, and what you guys decide to think of me is purely your own opinion. Now that I'm formally introduced with my screen names, let's move on! :)**

 **It's great to meet the Transformers fans that have been interested enough to investigate my humble work. Honestly, I'm just trying my hand in how well I can write for this Community. This piece of writing came to me when I decided to tackle the characters of Skids and Mudflap, see if I can give them more character development, even a prominent past. I also thought it would be fun to see more interaction between them and Leo. Plus, how funny would it be seeing that the poor man can't even get a proper date with his girlfriend. I aimed to keep Skids and Mudflap in character so they've stay true to themselves, but I ended up making them more serious with playful sides to them.**

 **You guys are the judges of how well I'm doing! Alright? Great! Let's get started. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **First Time For Everything**

"You know, you've been staring at me for the past few minutes, and I'm pretty sure you haven't blinked once yet." Leo was more surprised that he hadn't been the one to stare the most so far, at the bit of Mona's cleavage that peeked out of her top, barely visible. Of course she'd still appear modest.

She was kind of scary tonight. It felt like she was trying to dig holes into his chest with pickaxe.

That was all psychological feelings, of course.

It was just his face being bored into, and there was no pickaxe.

Amused at his words, the corners of her eyes crinkled and she gave him a half smile, taking a swig of water in the process.

Mona twisted the cap back onto her water bottle, taking her sweet time before placing it down next to her, and took a bite from her sandwich.

"Well, you've been quieter than usual tonight," she replied easily, a teasing glint in her eyes, which appeared sharper than usual. Perhaps she did something different with her eye makeup. Her tongue darted out to catch what bread crumbs remained on her lips before returning to its rightful place in her mouth. "I wonder," she continued, "If it's due to the pervy thoughts written clearly on your face."

Leo's mouth dropped open and he sat up a bit straighter, his eyes dropping back down to her covered chest, "Maybe," he drawled playfully, and grinned at her easy laughter.

"My eyes are up here," she reminded him with a simple gesture with two fingers pointing at her face. "Remember, it's our first date, so don't think you're getting any tonight. I'm not low standard, and I know you're a good person. Don't try to ruin that." Her tone remained smooth and gentle, which joined perfectly with the soft makeup she'd wear on any regular day.

Mona wasn't like the other girls. She wasn't hot, exactly, but cute, was willing to engage in conversations with Leo and even hang out, which was the only reason he was ever able to have a chance with her. Most people hardly spared him a second glance unless he somehow managed to hold their attention, and even then, he didn't mean much to anyone except Sharsky, Fassbinder, and now Sam, although he doesn't see much of him anymore after graduating with an Associate's degree. Simmons was different, of course, they couldn't count exactly as friends, but perhaps he'd gained a little respect from saving the older man's life from Devastator. Skids and Mudflap don't count either. When he first met them, they behaved like immature racist jerks, and now they've been following him around aimlessly like lost puppies.

Well, that was until he managed to contact Sam and get him to pass on a message to Optimus Prime about his little issue regarding the twins. As far as he's aware, they've been taken care of, and his life has been quiet for the past five months or so.

He'd been told by Mona on a few occasions that she likes to hang out with him because of how much he's like her old friends from high school. It's not that hard to see how much she misses them either, despite her claims about how good the independence feels, just to leave everything behind and start anew. However, if there's one good lesson he's ever learnt from another man, was that it's not wise to pry into any sensitive topics. The best option is to be silent, and let a lady talk her heart out when she's ready. It's not like Leo was better in conversations unless they were about his obsession towards science fiction, or about sex. It's not like he could commit to anything of the sort though, at least not yet, because Mona's the only girl he's ever gone out with, and this is just their first date.

They've kissed a few times though, and if he did say so himself, Leo was quite exceptional for the first time, and seen enough of it beforehand in movies, literature, and pornography to know how.

An awkward silence had fallen between the couple for an uncomfortable amount of time before Mona spoke again. "I have been wondering for a while," she began, "About your website."

"I have many websites," Leo replied, "Which one are you talking about?"

She ran her thumbs across her fingertips as her hands rested in her lap, a nervous habit of hers. "One of your former ones," she admitted, "Two years ago," Leo's eyebrows furrowed as he began to understand which she was talking about. "The Real Effing Deal."

"It's been on your mind for two years?" he took a quick gulp from his own water bottle and set it aside, "Why didn't you say something before?"

She looked a bit sheepish now and shrugged, "I couldn't find a better time to bring it up." Mona admitted, "I'm just wondering why it was taken down and never mentioned again."

Oh, how would he answer that question?

 _Sorry, at the time I only tried to get attention by being overly dramatic and immature. Once I finally met the giant effing robots, I realized that attention was the last thing I wanted, and vowed to do everything in my power for the sake of aftermath cleanup to just keep my mouth shut and remove the stupid site. Plus the Government's paying for my current expenses, which also plays a role in my silence._

Simmons must have been thinking the same thing, because he took down his site too.

And then the former agent wrote and published a book about it instead, the crazy dumbass.

"Leo?"

The young adult was snapped from his thoughts, "Uh," he did his best to shrug and look disinterested, and decided to pull out what Sam claimed when they first met, "I figured from the quality of the videos that it was fake, and anything overheard on the internet was rumors at best." He paused, "You remember my friend Sam Witwicky, right?"

Mona nodded slowly, "Yes, we've met a few times before, he's nice,"

"Yeah, yeah," he continued, "He's actually the one to knock some sense into me, quite a reality check," he shook his head slowly from the memories, "I was childish at the time," Leo smirked, "But now I'm a new man!" He raised a fist to add more dramatics, before lowering it again to grab his sandwich and bite into it. A moonlight picnic actually wasn't a bad idea for a first date. "So, you've seen the site?"

Mona drank more of her water and adjusted how she sat on the blanket. "Yeah, a friend of mine introduced it to me back when I was a junior in high school." A small blush dusted her cheeks as she continued, "I constantly checked for updates since then...up until the site was taken down. I suspected that the government was behind that, but now I'm not so sure from what you're telling me." Mona pursed her lips, "It's just...since then, I was obsessed with conspiracy theories behind the supposed terrorist attacks and other issues going on around the world and when the idea of alien robots was suggested with videos and stories behind it, I got hooked." She smiled, "I suppose whenever something unusual happens nowadays, pointing the finger at potential aliens doesn't sound as crazy anymore. I know plenty of people that like to poke fun at the subject."

 _Oh, she has no idea._

Leo admittedly didn't have any words for what she said, and swallowed, waited for her to either continue or change the subject.

She spared him a glance and smiled, much to his surprise. "The idea is still interesting to me, but I'm not obsessed anymore, and whether any of it was real or not," she leaned closer, "You're pretty good with convincing stories and compiling everything into something neat and organized."

Leo laughed, a hint of nervousness was still detectable, "You can thank Sharsky and Fassbinder for their help."

She hummed in agreement, "I should have suspected that their gifts were involved," and she finished her sandwich.

"It was a team effort to improve my digital empire," he abruptly shoved the rest of his sandwich into his mouth, making his cheeks puff out ridiculously like a hamster, and Mona laughed.

"Now that's a cute sight that could beat out kittens any day." she looked thoughtful, "Perhaps you should move onto rodent calendars next. I love chipmunks and gerbils,"

Leo emptied his water bottle to help wash down the rest of his sandwich and grimaced at the sensation of the food going down all at once, and hiccupped. He screwed on the cap and packed it into a small bag with the rest of their garbage, "I'll ge-" he hiccupped suddenly and recovered, before trying again, "I'll get to work on that," and he hiccupped again.

Mona smiled as they stood up, "Try rolling down that hill," and she bent over to fold up the blanket. Instead of taking her advice, Leo tried holding his breath, but it didn't work very well for him after three attempts. "Careful," she warned him with a playful smirk evident in her voice even with his back turned, "I wouldn't want you to pass out or anything, much less cause brain damage,"

Leo groaned before hiccupping again. "I think I need water," and he was about to ask Mona if he could please have the bag to get a new sealed one, but his back collar was tugged and something wet trickled down his back. He squealed in surprise and Mona laughed, backing away from him. "I would have tried scaring you, but I'm terrible at trying, so I figured that taking you by surprise could compensate for that fear," she smirked, "Did it work?"

He grumbled and searched through the bag until he found an extra water bottle. Leo unscrewed the cap, whirled around and grabbed her arm so he could dump its contents over her, much to her protest. Mona delivered him an unamused look and rushed him.

On instinct, Leo dropped the bottle and cap, turned and started running away. Much to his misfortune, he's not very active while she's part of a track team, so it didn't take much effort for her to catch up and tackle him.

Leo rolled onto his back and smirked up at her. Their faces were inches apart, but she moved away when he tried to kiss her. "You're all wet," she raised an eyebrow at his words, "Maybe you should lose a few layers to dry off."

Mona snorted and moved away from him so he could get back up. "If that's your mindset, maybe you should take your shirt off and cool down."

Leo shrugged, "Can't blame a guy for trying," and he followed her back to where their folded up blanket and bag sat. Mona picked up the discarded bottles, screwed on their caps and placed them in the bag before picking it up, and the blanket.

He dug into his pocket for his keys and manually unlocked his Honda Accord EX 1993, then unlocked the rest of the doors from a switch on the inside. It took a bit of time, but he got used to the older car. Honestly though, he thought Bumblebee was a lot cooler, and it was sad to see him go when he was consistently called for black ops missions against Decepticons, or involved in human affairs.

Now Leo can't help but wonder how Mona would react if she was introduced to the Cybertronians. Would she behave the same way he did, or would she be too busy fangirling over how incredible the entire concept was, and then start asking questions. He could already vividly imagine the scenarios and the headache that could potentially go with it.

Mona was usually quiet until she's urged to talk, and then it's nearly impossible for her to stop until she's given time alone to calm herself down. Throughout the two months of knowing her, Leo's never seen a midpoint between both extremes and it could sometimes get annoying for others if it's not himself. However, it was sometimes so endearing, especially her enthusiasm that he couldn't help but easily forgive that every time.

Plus she has nice boobs. A little bit of eye candy never hurt anyone.

Leo got another look at her eye makeup when she climbed into the passenger seat and placed the folded blanket and bag into a back seat. "You look nice tonight," he complimented her, and she smiled, thanking him, "Sure you still don't want to shed some layers tonight?" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

She rolled her eyes playfully and punched his shoulder, "You are such a boy!" Mona laughed, "All you seem to pay much attention to is someone's boobs."

"You have very beautiful eyes," Leo pointed out to try and prove her wrong, but failed miserably, because he kept his eyes on her chest.

Mona flicked his forehead and the young man quickly looked away, laughing with her. He turned his key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. "Did you have fun tonight?" he asked, trying to make sure she had a good time so she wouldn't dump him the next day. For most people, first relationships don't end well, but Leo wants to make this last and ensure that when it inevitably ends at some point, at least there won't be horrible memories in its wake. Deep down under his playful behavior, he really cared.

He turned onto the empty, gravel road and started driving back to the college campus. Neither of them had classes the next day, but Mona was very serious about getting to bed at a reasonable time. If something threw her off schedule, she'd be paying the price for the next few days. Leo was witness to that before, and it wasn't pretty. She was very tired and grumpy, and because she hung out with him most, he usually received the brunt of her...crude behavior.

Mona had openly admitted to Leo on several occasions that she could get very bitchy when she's sleep deprived, and needs desperately to stick to a strict schedule.

Light snuck into the car from the back window and Mona looked over her shoulder briefly, and then faced forward again. Leo paid it no mind.

After a few turns and going through intersections, Mona glanced behind them again. "Leo?" she whispered, as if she was worried someone else would hear her, "I think we're being followed,"

He glanced behind them in his rear view mirrors, "I'm sure it's just a coincidence," he shrugged it off, stopped briefly at a stop sign before taking a left turn. She glanced behind them again, "There's two cars," she stated, "Pull over, and see what they do,"

Leo let out a long, quiet exhale, turned on his right blinker, and slowed to a stop on the right shoulder, he put the Honda in park and sat with his arms crossed. A few seconds later the first car passed by.

And then it pulled over in front of them. Mona glanced backward and saw the second car behind them. She shifted uncomfortably, "Leo, I'm getting nervous," and started playing with her seatbelt.

One of the two cars was a bright green while the other was a dull cross between orange and brown, though it was hard to pinpoint during nighttime.

Leo started cursing, unlocked his seatbelt and opened his door to step out. "Stay right here," and started mumbling on how these guys just can't leave him alone.

"Do you know these guys?" she frowned, "You're not in any trouble, are you?"

He shook his head, "Nah, these guys are just annoying and like to pester. It's probably best you don't meet them though. They're difficult to deal with sometimes."

She watched silently as he shut his door and strode over to the green car, and the driver's side window must have rolled down, because Leo started talking through to whoever was driving. Mona couldn't see inside the vehicle though.

Crossing her arms, she strained to hear what was being discussed, but all she could pick up was Leo's annoyed voice and someone else with a hillbilly accent, and then another similar voice joined the conversation. She frowned but continued watching with discretion until she picked up on arguing. Mona began to worry that Leo was going to get hurt, or cause more trouble than necessary. Nothing bad's happened around him yet, and she didn't want it to start now. Listening to her moral conscience regarding his safety, she unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out of the car. "Leo, please just tell me what's going on," she insisted, "I'm starting to get worried," there was a pause, "And sleepy," she lowered her voice to a whisper so only he would hear.

Grimacing, the young man turned back to face through the window of the green car, and Mona still couldn't catch a glimpse of the driver. "Look, this can wait, okay? I gotta get my girlfriend home, we have more important things to do!"

"You's got a girlfriend?" a voice from the other car spoke up, "Lemme get a look at 'er," the car rolled around Leo's own vehicle and stopped a good three feet away from her, and the front lights started flashing and they heard a catcall, "Look at dat! She got nice tits!" Mona raised an unamused eyebrow at that.

"Will you guys cut that out?!" Leo started yelling, and she sighed. He was going into another tantrum, just like the time when Sam left. Both men were unhappy that it'd be harder to keep in touch.

"Leo," she tried getting his attention.

The green car drove closer insistently, "Dis can't wait, man. It's important. It's about life and death matters! We's on a mission!"

"Leo," Mona called to him, louder, sharper. Her next words died in her mouth though when the green car let out a hissing sound.

And then components to it began shifting around.

Eyes widening, she backed up until she touched the orange car's bumper, and the engine revved at her, startling the lady. Now confused, the only comfort she could latch onto was by grabbing Leo's hand and stared gob smacked at the green humanoid creature staring right down at them. If she didn't know any better, she'd think that the metallic being was looking smugly at them.

Then it reached down at them, and Mona let out a startled yelp when a giant, surprisingly warm hand wrapped around her torso, the other doing the same to her boyfriend, and they were lifted off the ground.

Before the poor girl could even consider screaming her head off or try to fight the robot, she heard more hissing and shifting. The next thing either human knew, they were sitting inside a car, and seat belts slid out to buckle them in.

"Sit back an' relax, man." that same hillbilly voice came through the radio. "We's goin' on an adventure!"

Another voice came through the driver's open window from the orange car, "Let's make like ninjas and disappear! Whooo!" and both vehicles floored their accelerators, spitting up gravel in their haste to get away from the area.

Shocked, Mona twisted her torso and head to look out the rear window at Leo's car steadily getting smaller as it was left behind. She then faced forward again with wide eyes, and struggled to keep her breathing steady. "Leo?" her quiet voice grasped his attention this time, and he cautiously looked her way, swallowed hard, and squeaked.

"Yes?"

Snapping her scrutinizing gaze his way, she asked, "Do most of your first dates end up like this?"

Blinking in surprise, he could do nothing else but smile sheepishly and admit, "This is my first date. I just didn't expect these guys to interrupt our evening. Please don't kill me!"

Her rapid gasps got louder, "They won't hurt us, right?"

There's the big question right there, and at least he could answer honestly. "No." Leo reached out with a hand to pat her shoulder reassuringly to support his answer.

Skids and Mudflap both remained surprisingly quiet, probably giggling to themselves about their situation.

It didn't take long for Mona to calm down more, glanced at Leo once again and gave him a small smile. "Obviously we're going to be out later than I'd like," she started, and got that glint in her eyes that meant she had a few ideas in her head, "But I think it's safe to say that this is the most... _interesting_ first date I've had yet."

More whoops and catcalls were heard through the radio, and Leo groaned and slapped his forehead in exasperation. "Looks like we impressed you're lady more than you did!" One of them taunted, and then turned flirtatious. "And by the way, pretty gal, we're both single if ya lose interest in dis shrimp taco," and then more laughing was heard through the radio.

Mona sent Leo a look asking for help and he just shrugged, "They don't mean a word," he whispered, "Just go with it. They both have the maturity level of five year olds with autism." Both sources of the voices apparently heard what he said and protested against his claim.

She blinked and raised an eyebrow. "I have autism." Mona pointed out, unamused.

Leo grimaced from his choice of words. Not the best way to impress anyone. "Uh, whoops,"

More laughing could be heard from the radio, but Mona ignored it and crossed her arms to address the cars. "So what was the point in taking us? What do you want?"

That was when the laughing stopped, and the atmosphere grew a lot thicker from tension.

* * *

 **Okay? Was it good? Constructive criticism, no matter how brutal, is always considered helpful and useful, but only if it's detailed. I can't read minds...as cool as that would be. ;)**

 **Uh, so this is meant to be a short story. There will only be five chapters total for this, just to test my skills and improvements with writing in this fandom.**

 **If you guys haven't noticed yet, I have a poll on my profile page (today's 8/29/15) for you guys to vote over which Community you want me to write for when I'm done with this particular story. The choices are either Tron, or Transformers.**

 **Now, Transformers takes place in Bay's movies, with my own little twists and additions. I've planned out 3 series for it as of now (plus more), although future movies will determine when I start to change the plot into my own ideas. If the fifth movie doesn't go how I like it (also depends on when it comes out and what I'm writing at the time), I'm highly likely to break off right after Age of Extinction and only use certain elements from the future movies as nothing more than pointers for a certain direction. Total of books are undetermined.**

 **Tron is going to be a bit different. That first book is my own. Very few canon characters involved and the plot is my own. Then it goes into Tron: Uprising for the second book. The third will take place to connect into Legacy, go through the plot from there. The rest is my own imagination again. Total of books for these is about seven, and unlike Transformers at the moment, I have it all planned out.**

 **Eventually for both, I'm going to break off canon events and stride off into uncharted waters within my own head. What's awesome for these books is that you don't have to be completely familiar with either fandom, because I'm starting from very basic information, and you guys (who could possibly not know much about it) can go along with the plot, and grasp the concept and mythology as you go along.**

 **For both fandoms, I am going to be inserting my own OC characters (both are girls *sigh* I know). Canon events are unlikely to change until the time comes. There will be romance, but it's slow, and won't happen for either Tron or Transformers until at least the second book. I intend for the romance to be nothing more than a sideplot, and shouldn't take up too much from the action, adventure, and the torture I plan to put my OC's through. *insert evil laughter here***

 **Wow, this is a very long Author's note, but obviously, I like details...they're important. Although they shouldn't be as long as these in the future. :)**

 **So...school for me is starting in two days, and I have no idea when I'll update next, but until then! Toodles. (Again! I enjoy compliments, but I like constructive criticism even better!) :)**


	2. Death Is Only The Beginning

**Hello good readers! It's me again.  
I failed to mention last chapter that even though I have an OC in this fic, it's only to bring a bit more life to the story...and I took pity on Leo's character. XD The point in writing this short story is to make it about Skids and Mudflap, so Mona is nothing more than a side character in this, although there will be some detail about her feelings regarding everything she's taking in. And despite Mona having autism (tactile), it's not going to define too much about her. It'll pop up now and then, but that's my doing because I'm trying to work on sensory factors.**

* * *

 **Death Is Only The Beginning**

The Autobot twins pulled into a clearing and Skids silently unbuckled his seat belts and opened the doors to let his human passengers outside. Leo slammed the driver's side door shut while Mona did so more gingerly, wondering if it was possible to hurt the robot that technically kidnapped them.

The cars began transforming with the sound of clanking metal, twisting and repositioning to fit in a more appropriate fashion for bipedal beings.

And then they all just stood there silently, staring at each other with either quizzical, or intense looks directed at someone specific, or to anyone in company.

"So, uh," Mona crossed her arms, feeling stiff and cold in her wet shirt, and uncomfortable under the gazes of both robots, "My question still stands. I'd really like to know why I'm forcefully being kept up past my bedtime."

Leo groaned and ran a hand through his hair, "I think you've just opened a can of worms," he muttered.

"I'm Skids," the green robot greeted her with a smile that promised mischief, and Mona swore that in the darkness she saw him wearing a gigantic gold tooth. "And dis ugly asswad is Mudflap," he added in a disinterested tone.

"Yo, man!" the orange one exclaimed, "Dat ain't cool! We twins, stupid!"

In Mona's opinion, they certainly took being hillbillies to the next level. "Okay," she interjected before they tried to take their verbal quarrel too far, "My name is Mona, and I hear that you're…" she searched for the right word, "Well acquainted with Leo, then?"

They seemed to stand taller in pride, "Yeah, man! We're 'is guardians!" Mudflap rested his fists on his hips and grinned down at the young man, who looked irritated and ready to disagree.

That, which he gladly did. "You guys are not my protectors!" he nearly shrieked, "All you do is stalk me!"

Mona just stared at her boyfriend in surprise from his behavior.

"And it's really creepy," he continued, "Even for aliens. You hated me before Egypt even happened and after all that, you suddenly want to hang around me all the time! I just don't understand you!"

Skids placed a servo over his chassis in mock hurt. "Aww, come on man, we was just teasin'."

"Yeah," Mudflap agreed, "We didn't really wanna pop a cap in your ass an' throw ya in a trunk."

Mona blinked in surprise and confusion from what they're talking about. "Um," she cleared her throat to reel their attention back in. "I...still don't know why you guys brought Leo and me here," she reminded them and crossed her arms. It was beginning to feel a bit chilly and her wet blouse was uncomfortable rubbing against her skin. It felt chafing, with pinpricks along the skin most exposed to the fabric. At least there weren't long sleeves, despite the cold. Mona knew it wasn't really that chilly out, or Leo would be complaining nonstop.

"Oh...yeah," the two robots looked more excited now, and Mudflap stepped back in a dramatic pose, like he was going to say something both interesting and important. "We're here," he started.

"To tell you," Skids continued.

"A story!" they said together, and both young humans blinked.

Mona raised an eyebrow at their statement and Leo looked nothing short of livid. "You…" he turned beet red in the face and jabbed a finger in their direction, "Did all this to….to…." Leo growled as he trailed off, at a loss for words.

Surprisingly, so was Mona, and the twins used this to their advantage.

"Yeah, a true story," Mudflap claimed.

"We finally decided to take the next step in our roles of guardianship," Skids added.

"After all, we've already learned plenty 'bout you when we hacked into your computer," the orange bot revealed, much to Leo's shock and horror, which was quite evident on his face.

"So after all this time, it's fair dat ya learn more 'bout us in return," Skids finished, both twins completely oblivious to how Leo appeared to feel about this situation.

The young man started pulling at his hair in frustration, "You guys mean to tell me that you can't read your own language, but you have no problem hacking into my computer?!"

Both twins nodded excitedly, unoffended.

Mona glanced at her boyfriend, "Wow," she smirked, fighting back the shivers, "You're a real piece of work, aren't you? Involvement with alien robots, and you behave like they're little brothers trying to take all your toys." Mona then looked into both bot's glowing blue optics, which appeared mismatched, "And you two, how much do you like to push his buttons? Because I think that if you go any further, Leo's poor head is going to explode, and I honestly wouldn't be happy about that."

Leo sighed, appearing more calm than he was a few minutes ago, "How important is this story? Can it wait?"

Both 'Bots remained stubborn. "We're not gonna let ya go until ya hear all of it," said Skids.

Resigning to her fate, Mona prepared to be up later than her preference, and sat down, though honestly curious to hear a story from two alien robots, "Then what are we waiting for?" she asked, sparing Leo a sympathetic glance as he sat down in the grass next to her, still appearing reluctant to be here.

"Alright," Mudflap began, "Dis is a story 'bout family,"

"Trust," Skids added.

"Bonds between brothers and their loved ones," Mudflap continued.

"Betrayal,"

"Survival,"

"Yeah man, 's how we became the 'Bots we are today!" Skids concluded.

Mudflap demonstrated a few punches and kicks, "How do ya think we learned our kung fu ninja moves?"

Mona smiled gently, "It certainly sounds interesting."

Even Leo looked intrigued and curious from their brief, vague summary, but muttered out, "Just get it over with, already."

Skids sidestepped away from his twin and waved his arm across the field visible behind from between them, as if it revealed a visual for their story.

"Once upon a time," Mudflap began, but Skids promptly slapped the back of his helm.

"Stupid! Ya promised dat you wouldn't start like dat!" he protested, and took over with talking. "It all began...with a forbidden love."

 **...**

"Is Carrier back yet?" Skids asked while he moved to approach his brother, who was lingering near the entrance of the manganese cave they resided in for the time being.

"Don't come too close," Mudflap warned, "I'm gettin' worried too. Ya remember what Carrier told us ta do if she don't come back?"

The mech paused to think, "We leave out da back way of da cave, head towards da glowin' city nearby, and look for somebot named Ratchet."

Mudflap nodded, accepting the answer, "Good, we just need ta hope dat it don't come down ta dat."

"I just don' understand," Skids told Mudflap, who turned around and raised his door wings inquisitively. "If Carrier didn't want us to be in da war, how come she tellin' us to find 'em? Isn't Ratchet an Autobot?"

"Let's not overthink it, 'right?" Mudflap suggested, turning back around to look outside, "Ya can still feel her through da bond, right?" He didn't need to look to know that his brother was nodding. "Then we don't have anythin' ta worry 'bout," he declared, "At least not yet."

There was a pause, "Den why are ya standin' there like dat?" Skids stepped up so he stood next to his twin, "I can feel how tense ya are, just waitin' for somethin' to go wrong."

Mudflap lowered his helm and vented, "I have half a mind ta just go out lookin' for 'er, ya know?"

"Well you ain't be going alone if ya go out doin' dat." Skids stated, and placed a comforting servo on his brother's protoform shoulder plate. "I got ya back 'till both our sparks extinguish."

Standing just a bit straighter, Mudflap looked into his brother's optics, determination mirroring between them on their faceplates and bond alike. "Den let's go lookin' for Carrier."

Clenching their servos, both mechs cautiously took a few steps out of the cave. They've done this before several times in the past, something their carrier didn't know whether she was around or not, but they never wandered too far away from her or where they stayed to fuel up and recharge.

Their Carrier only ever left them alone when she was scouting for energon to sustain them, but it's hard to find now without risking being seen by Autobots or Decepticons, who have occasionally swept through these mountains to mine for the precious substance.

Normally she never took this long to look for energon, not even when she had to take the longest detours. None of them have refueled in several Orns, and were beginning to run low on their reserves.

Of course, the twins and their Carrier have grown used to living a nomadic life, detached from other Cybertronians and sometimes having to struggle just to get by.

It doesn't mean that it's gotten much easier for anyone, though.

Both younglings were constantly looking over their shoulders in case there was anything suspicious or dangerous nearby, but they haven't seen anything yet.

"Mudflap," his twin spoke up quietly, "I-I think I hear somethin'."

Both 'Bots stopped in their tracks and Mudflap strained his audials to pick up on whatever Skids noticed.

It sounded like metal screeching, and they both suddenly heard a pained cry following the horrid noise that nearly froze their circuits.

The twins shared a worried look before taking off in a sprint to locate where the commotion was coming from. That same familiar voice this time released a battle cry, and they had only just turned a corner made up from a sheer side of the mountains surrounding them.

While remaining hidden in the shadows, Skids came to an abrupt stop and grabbed Mudflap's servo to halt him as well without being seen, and neither did anything but stare at the sight of their Carrier charging at a dark mech that had to be over twice her size. His armor was accessorized with four shields attached to his shoulder plating and arms, one of them bearing a Decepticon emblem that their Carrier had taught them meant horrible things, and they should stay away. A large cannon was attached to his back and peeked just over his helm, ready for use in battle.

The Decepticon narrowed his crimson red optics into thin slits as he sidestepped around her when she came closer, and moved to stab into her weaker protoform armor, but she was prepared and countered his attack by hurtling over his servo and pulling some hidden wires loose in his upper arm, and sparks flew from damaged circuits.

He roared in fury and moved away from her, and the cannon on his back warmed up just when he bent forward and willed it to aim and fire. Both young twins were both awed and disturbed to see their Carrier dodge each attack and counter against her foe with such ease and precision as if it came naturally.

She got close enough to her opponent to snatch a small gadget from its holder from between two armor plates between his hip and abdomen, which was quickly discovered to be a smaller gun.

"Go back to the slagheap from whence you came, Constructicon!" She shouted and opened fire with his own weapon now used against him.

Though she had managed to hold her own so far, it didn't escape Mudflap that she was injured, and a thin stream of energon trickled steadily from a hidden cut somewhere in her torso.

"Mudflap," Skids whispered, "We-we gotta help her!"

"Skids!" Mudflap hissed to his twin, signaling through their bond to return to their hiding place, but his brother blocked his end to avoid distractions.

The youngling's movement didn't go unnoticed, for their Carrier appeared to sense them nearby, and glanced to lay her optics on the sight of him running towards her, and her faceplates slackened in shock.

Completely distracted, she failed to notice her opponent raisin a single arm to strike with his bare claws.

"Carrier!" Skids yelled.

Mudflap emerged from his hiding place as well, "Look out!"

Their warning came too late. Both twins stood stock still where they were, and looked away from the sight, afraid to see the results. They heard the screech of tearing protoform plating, the sickening splatter of energon flecking across the metallic surroundings and staining the ground and walls with the life blood of a Cybertronian.

Skids was the first to uncover his optics and gazed at their fallen creator, at a loss for words.

A dying flicker through the bond with their Carrier was what urged Mudflap to stare at the gruesome sight, but couldn't remain silent. "NOOOOOOO!"

Everything happened in slow motion after that. Silent communications was exchanged between the twins and both moved to rush the mech that bested their Carrier.

If there was one good thing from her protectiveness, she had taught them basic self defense should anything happen to them, but their knowledge of offences was much more limited, so they had to be creative, especially from their lack of proper weaponry and armor.

While they were small and started out by only skittering around the large Decepticon's peds, they soon managed to find chinks in his armor plates, mostly around his legs and lower torso, and attacked the energon lines and circuits before dancing out of the way of his strikes.

Infuriated, the lone Constructicon let out a roar and took several steps back, located both twins and predicted their next movement before swatting at them with a largo servo.

In one sweep, both were hit with blunt force and knocked into a jagged, metal cliff, and landed in a heap with each other's limbs tangled with the other's.

Their young, sensitive protoforms were dented, a few wires underneath were misaligned, causing discomfort, and their processors sustained a fair share from their enemy's brutality as well, disorienting them.

The damages were enough to knock both into stasis until their self repairs could help with their injuries. Completely vulnerable, they were left at the mercy of not only their victorious opponent, but the will of Primus.

Neither of them were sure of how much time passed before they awoke, but it was long enough for their foe to flee without finishing them off, perhaps leaving them for dead. Perhaps he planned for worse: condemning them to suffering sparkbreak until someone else takes pity on them and finishes the twins off then.

Both could feel a faint flicker through their Carrier's side of the bond, indicating that she wasn't dead yet.

Skids weakly scrambled onto his peds first and nudged his twin before dashing over to kneel by her side. Mudflap wasn't far behind and joined his twin on their creator's other side, and reached for her servo to grip tightly.

She stirred and her helm turned upwards to face both of them leaning over her. Carrier's optics dimmed to the point they were barely online. Silently, she prodded at their side of the creator and creation bond in a brush of affection, to which they moved closer, careful not to jostle her body and cause her pain, while returning their unconditional love, but also their futile hope and fear.

Until their parting moments, words weren't needed.

Everyone's faceplates and optics said everything that needed to be told.

Skids wanted to say, _Carrier, please don't go!_

Mudflap wanted his final words to claim how much he loves his creator.

Their Carrier could have said so many things to them, but there was no time. It might be ordering them to take care of each other, or one final demand that they find Ratchet, who could take care of them. Perhaps Carrier would have scolded them for disobeying a simple rule about leaving the cave without her supervision, but whether they were here or not, the results were likely to be the same. She didn't want them to lament her absence, but there was no helping it.

So much could have been said, even if they had all the time they needed, it wouldn't have been anything besides words that they already knew deep in their sparks, and there was no point in saying them aloud.

She prodded them through their bond lovingly one final time before her frame began to relax more. Mudflap tightened his servo around hers in a death grip, while Skids laid his own servo onto her chassis to feel the weak hum of her spark, the sadness evident in their optics and their own side of the bond.

Their Carrier's optics offlined and her head fell to one side limply, the energon leaking from her fatal injuries crossing over her abdomen and lower chassis gradually slowed, and her spark grew slower, the hum dimmer, until its action was nonexistent.

As soon as every trace of life left her frame and spark, the creation bond became empty, and then her spiritual side suddenly shattered much like brittle glass from sudden lack of presence, and sharp pains raced through both twins from the broken bond, causing them to cry out in shock and hurt.

The initial pain faded, but only just so it became a consistent, agonizing throb resulting from both of their split sparks trying to reach out to their creator's side of the bond and fix the damages done and reconnect, but failed.

Shaking in uncontrollable sobs, Mudflap leaned into their Carrier's empty, lifeless husk and clutched her servo desperately to his chassis. Skids offlined his optics, unable to look at the gruesome, torn image of his Carrier's energon-splattered protoform plating and the injuries that forever mar her stunning beauty. Whimpering, Skids curled into her chassis just above her spark, and his shoulder plating just touching the top of Mudflap's helm.

Already, their Carrier's protoform was beginning to cool, no longer warm with a thrumming spark to pump energon and coolant throughout her systems, and a working processor and other joint mechanisms rubbing together from her motor movements.

Never having smelt spilled energon besides the time Mudflap had fallen down a steep hill and opened up a small energon line, the strong odor was thick and heavy in the air with hints of metallic and other unnamed lively elemental compounds was harsh on their olfactory sensors, and was a constant, painful reminder of what's just happened in this very spot.

Eventually, both twins calmed down enough to think coherently again and began to sit up, shifting around so they were no longer cuddled on top of their Carrier but sitting shoulder to shoulder just above where her helm rested on the ground. Together, they quietly murmured a prayer to Primus in hopes that her spark could rejoin the other resting within the All Spark to be taken care of with as much love from him as the rest.

Nobody moved. Their Carrier remained exactly as she was, her helm turned and facing them, the twins themselves staring back at her dull, lifeless optics with an unfamiliar coldness that neither of them possessed before.

"We can't let dat 'Con get away wif what he did," Skids insisted in a quiet, broken voice, "I want to find him, I don't know how, but I want to find him and make him pay for what he did to Carrier," he started shaking again.

Mudflap placed a comforting servo on his twin's shoulder to help calm him down, but he wasn't feeling any better than his brother. "We'll find a way, maybe this Ratchet 'Bot can help us. I don't want him running free after dis any more den you want, but we need ta be patient."

It was still hard though, taking his own advice when like his twin, he wanted nothing more than to chase down the murderer yet again for a round two, but neither of them were in any condition to do so nor did they have much energy.

They needed the rest of their physical energy to travel to the nearest City-State, the remains of their psychological energy to make the difficult decision to abandon their Carrier's body to Cybertron's elements, and every bit of their spiritual energy to try and recover from the trauma of a severed bond.

Their self repairs have done all they can for the moment and bought them some time to find a medic to tend to their injuries.

"We'll find 'im," Mudflap promised his brother, "And when we do, he'll pay."

Skids turned to stare into his other half's optics with uncertainty and barely contained hope. "Den let's go find Ratchet."

 **...**

"I don't think dat it was even considered love," Mudflap spoke, with a bitterness that was rare, even with constant bickering with his twin. "He was never there for 'er when she needed him. It might as well have been called a fling."

Skids hummed, unsure whether to agree or not, "I bet it was somethin' close before we came along."

Mona frowned, the sympathy in her eyes clear as the starry night sky above them. She couldn't find it in her to look at the two young Autobots, so she settled for staring upwards. She'd been outside long enough that her eyes adjusted and could see each star and their unique features. There were red, orange, yellow, blue, and she thought she saw a few white ones, and there were anything from small, to average size, to supergiants. Even though they looked close together from where they were on earth, Mona still knew that most were light years away from each other, in different environments and elements either on a regular or occasional basis. Whether they were young and bright, or old and faded, each star had its beauty, its own story to tell.

For such young 'Bots, they've gone through so much emotional trauma before they even began fighting in a war, yet both twins still managed to remain as easygoing, immature jokesters.

As confusing as it was, Mona supposed that it's good they've found some sort of coping mechanism to help, though she's unsure of what's been helping them all this time.

It's still clearly painful, even now, with both brothers telling this story. The atmosphere has changed completely - gone was careless immaturity and now everything has become completely serious. It was honestly strange, seeing how these machines were actually capable of having emotions, to feel love and pain just as much as she could.

It seems that humans weren't the only beings that failed to realize what they appreciated and loved until it was gone. Mona hugged herself, what if something devastating happened to her parents?

"So," Leo's voice brought Mona's thoughts back to the present time, "Was this Constructicon someone we've met in Egypt? A component to Devastator?"

Both twins glanced at each other silently, their faceplates unreadable but there was a strange glint in their bright blue optics that unnerved Mona and gave her goosebumps.

The young man frowned, apparently noticing the same thing, "Who is it?"

* * *

 **Alright, I'm leaving the Constructicon's identity a mystery at the moment for suspenseful purposes. If you figured it out immediately, then good for you. ;) Skids and Mudflap's Carrier will remain unnamed mostly because there's no purpose in naming her**

 **As I mentioned before, I'm trying to keep everyone in character, but that'll be difficult with the Twins because by giving them this dark past in which they're seeking revenge, I'm likely to sacrifice a little bit of their personalities to develop something to bring more liveliness to them. (Plus I've read lots of fanfictions that show them in a bad light. I enjoy tackling characters that few people pay attention to.**

 **If there's anything you guys feel that I can do better on, feel free to leave a review, or a private message so I may see ways to improve myself, and my writing. I should also mention that updates will not be frequent, because of the obviousness of juggling both schoolwork and a job (along with personal fitness), so I won't have as much time as I desire to work on this lovely hobby of mine.**

 **I really appreciate the votes I'm also getting on my poll. Don't be afraid to express your desire if you really want something from me. I'll work to understand :)**

 **Until next time. Toodles!**


	3. Pain Is Not Beauty

**Hi guys! Happy Tuesday! You're all in for a treat! I just wrote the longest chapter in a long time! I would have posted it on a Saturday, but...yeah, you guys know about school and my priorities.**

 **Anyhow, this was a lot to go through, and I kinda spat out a few plot bunnies in here that could have been processed better, but...it's long. So, I know there's a few problems with it and such, but not so horrible that it can't be accepted. For example, I may have overdone the sensory issue with Mona and went a little bit fast near the end for that...ahem...BIG confrontation! Oh well... Here ya go! Enjoy! :)**

 **(By the way, I decided to do something new between time skips and flashbacks: so the little nyan cat I made is just a little time skip during flashbacks, and ONLY for flashbacks. The bold dots are just little jumping points between the present time and the flashbacks.) XD**

* * *

 **Pain Is Not Beauty**

Skids shook his helm. "Our Carrier's killer 's awful," his convictious claim was filled with so much venom, it seemed so out of character for him.

"Shouldn't talk about him at the moment," Mudflap interjected with a neutral attitude to at least lighten the mood for the moment. "We don' wanna fall out of order with da story."

Leo sighed in exasperation and sat down on the hard ground. "Then by all means," he said tiredly as Mona joined him, "Please continue."

The prickly grass poked the epidermis of her skin, scratching against the surface and either felt itchy or ticklish, setting off her nerve endings in an discomforting way. Revision: it was making her skin feel raw. She shifted, trying to get comfortable, but was having trouble. There were very few upsides with overactive tactile neurons in her peripheral nervous system.

Earlier that evening, she had tolerated it, but the fabric of their picnic blanket or the leathery interior of the green car wasn't too bad. Right now, she's confused, sleepy, and it doesn't combine well with her sensitivity issues.

Her restlessness didn't go unnoticed and all eyes went on her. Mona felt overstimulated and she sighed, wishing she was wearing long pants for once instead of short shorts, even if clothes felt restricting. Lately, she's been picky again with what types of fabric she wears and regrets leaving her soft rubber curry comb at home. Its thousands of fine teeth running along her arms and legs daily helped with her sensitivity issues a little. At the moment, it didn't help that her shirt was still damp from Leo dumping an entire water bottle over her, and the gentle night breeze was making her feel like she's in Antarctica, when in reality, it was only seventy three degrees Fahrenheit outside.

"You alright?" Leo asked and her eyes fell on him.

She looked embarrassed now and blushed, "I wish I had that blanket with me. That would have been great," she admitted.

Leo leaned back against the lone tree in the clearing, "You could sit in my lap," he suggested. Mona looked unconvinced and raised her eyebrow. Leo sighed, "I promise to behave myself," he assured her.

He could have sworn that Skids and Mudflap were giggling over their bond at all of this, but their faceplates and optics gave nothing away, their vocalizers silent as they stared at the two humans as they got comfortable together.

Mona laughed nervously as she leaned against Leo and rested her head against his shoulder. While his clothing texture wasn't that great for her, it was much better than the grass, and his body heat felt good, making her shiver a bit less from the cold. She knew it wasn't that chilly outside though, it was just her nerves.

"Sorry," she apologized with a sheepish smile and looked back up to the twins. "So, what happened after you went out searching? Did you find Ratchet?"

"Got more den we expected," Mudflap answered.

"Much more," Skids emphasized.

 **….**

 _Many, Many Vorns Later..._

Mudflap's door wings flared aggressively as he let out a battle cry, lifted his blade, and charged at the tall, heavily armored dark mech prepared for a fight, whose cannons were charged and ready. Skids was coming at him from the opposite direction, trying to take the time to aim, but in a blur of movement and a grunt of effortless exertion from their opponent, both twins were redirected until they crashed into each other and landed in a heap on the smooth, metallic floor.

The loud clanging of metal on metal echoed throughout the large training room they occupied, and nearly drowned out the grumblings both young 'Bots let out.

A deep gruff voice then broke through the noises while the twins were still recovering. "Keep your act together! You need to think before you strike, I can move just as much as both of you can! The key in battle is to predict your opponent's movements while concealing your own plans. Drill it again!"

Skids felt sore from the constant beatings he's been getting alongside his brother ever since they started training under Ironhide, who didn't look any happier than them...even if he did get to beat them up a lot.

Mudflap was the first back on his peds and picked up his short sword that he borrowed for training. He honestly didn't feel much better than his other half, but he was a little better at hiding it.

For the past few Groons, they've been drilling through various training sequences that Skids was sure only meant that other 'Bots "training them," were really making them personal punching bags. Now they're covered helm to ped in dings, scratches, twisted circuits, and sore joints in places they weren't aware of before. Meanwhile, their current instructor appears to have barely worked himself up in the process of preventing them from landing any real hits.

An excellent method of making them feel pathetic and useless.

They'd need to see Ratchet yet again as soon as Ironhide was through with them.

Skids sat up on his own, but accepted Mudflap's servo when being helped up. Somehow, he managed to hold onto his own weapon: a small plasma pistol - which he still had yet to aim correctly.

Mudflap already mastered his gun, now built into his arm, but had to work on his blade skills, and his brother was an opposite to him when it comes to weaponry uses.

Ironhide has observed that as split spark twins, they're already in sync and could make great partners on the field as foot soldiers, but still had yet to use their bond to their advantage in combat, something that he was trying so hard to teach them through trial and error.

So far, it's been a very long training session, and all parties feel like it's going nowhere.

The young twins shared a glance before splitting to run in different directions yet again. "Listen to each other!" he snapped. Ironhide backed up for more space as both young Autobots came closer.

It finally appeared that his urging for them to keep the bond wide open for cues, a sense of unity so they can give and accept directions from each other, and to inform their other half of their own whereabouts and personal intentions.

Neither of them ever really tried to keep their twin bond unguarded from each other, mostly because they enjoyed at least some privacy and to be alone with their thoughts.

Their Carrier never told them that it was ever necessary, and even if they were two halves of one whole, they were still in all technicalities their own individual person.

It's funny, because it truly seemed that way back then, but not now.

At this point, unlike the other twins: Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, they seemed to be completely identical, from frame shape and size to their personality traits - two spawns of the same being.

The only way they could be told apart now was by their paint. Skids was a bright green while Mudflap chose a rusty orange shade.

Although the second of the twins was beginning to like his brother's paint more…

With a grunt, Ironhide swipes at Mudflap, who quickly dodges in a direction indicated by Skids via their bond, and retaliated by swiping at the mech's servo with his blade. He was too slow, however, and the older warrior moved out of the way, and instead, aimed to kick at Skids.

The green twin rolled out of the way, as his twin warned him (although he didn't need it), and aimed his plasma pistol to fire two shots. The first one only just grazed Ironhide's shoulder plating, causing him to grunt from the force of the hit, while the second whizzed right past and joined the dozens of scorch marks decorating the walls around the room.

Taking advantage of Skids occupying their instructor, Mudflap charged Ironhide from behind, jumped up and clung to the armor plating on his leg like a parasite.

"What are you doing?! Get off me!" Ironhide growled and stomped a few times, an awkward effort that did little, and then Skids lodged himself onto the mech's other leg. The green twin didn't stop there though.

While Mudflap started playing around with a few wires underneath the armor, his other twin started skittering up to the dark Cybertronian's spinal strut, and hovered just between the shoulders.

Their trainer was making an effort not to yelp ridiculously from the discomfort of having two beings crawling all over him and pinching circuits to cause discomfort, but it was difficult.

Ironhide was spinning in a slow circle with his arms waving about and reaching around to dislodge Skids, but the youngling kept avoiding his grasping servos. Taking steps was clumsy with all the extra weight just above one of his peds and below the knee, and nearly caused him to lose balance a few times.

The black mech bent over to take hold of Mudflap and started pulling in a desperate attempt to at least loosen the orange twin's grip, but he only clung on tighter in desperation. Skids, meanwhile, had his small plasma pistol charged and ready to fire at his back. Ironhide then roared when Mudflap's denta bit down behind his knee and snagged a few wires.

His legs gave and Ironhide fell backwards, landing on top of Skids while three of the orange youngling's limbs were trapped between the mech's leg and the floor.

"HELP! Help me!" Mudflap heard his twin's muffled cries of desperation beneath the crushing weight of the weapon's specialist. "I'm FRAGGING DYING!" Then there was the clang of metal hitting metal, and he looked up to see the ridiculous sight of all four green limbs flailing in panic while the head and torso was completely hidden behind Ironhide's back, making contact with both the cold metallic floor and their instructor's body. Nobody laid limp for very long, but it was enough to cause severe discomfort for Mudflap's limbs. He couldn't imagine how his twin felt under their trainer's massive self, but it sure was funny to see him wiggle his arms and legs around pointlessly while uttering dramatic phrases.

"Goodbye cruel world!" Skids continued on in his whiny voice. "Make the pain go away already! Oh-OH! Mudflap! I see a light. It's so gorgeous, I want to touch it."

Ironhide groaned and sat up. "You'd wish it was that easy," he grumbled. "Get up, your session's over, finally. I want you out of my sight so I can get to target practice," he paused to think. "Or you both could become my moving targets."

As soon as the dark mech was on his peds and moving away to gain more space, Mudflap observed both his arms, servos, and the one leg that got trapped around his instructor's leg. Most of the plating was crushed and disfigured, not only looking ridiculous, but it was also painful to move. There was pressure on his energon cables, a few coolant lines were pinched, and his motor circuits were either twisted in kinks and knots or bundled tightly with others.

One look at Skids though made Mudflap halt all thoughts about his injuries. The poor guy's entire torso and faceplates were completely flattened. All uneven surfaces of his armor plating was kinked, folded over and smoothed out like crushed tin foil would be under massive weight. Considering the state of what was supposed to protect him, Skids couldn't be feeling any more comfortable than Mudflap, with the material rubbing over circuits and sensitive protoform plating now. Still, the sight was hilarious.

Unable to help himself, the orange 'Bot started laughing at his brother's expense, earning a glare that only made him laugh harder. His face, it was like someone rearranged everything in the head so it was flattened already, and strategically placed all of the plating so there were barely any chinks between. The attempt Skids made to look upset only made his face look all the more ridiculous.

Angered, Skids started chasing his brother over his unharmed legs and his target kept snorting with laughter as he limped at a fast pace to get away from the youngling with intentions to harm him.

Once the twins left, the room fell deathly silent, and Ironhide sighed in relief. "Finally, thank Primus," he muttered, feeling no remorse for what he'd done to the twins, even if it wasn't entirely on purpose. "At least they can annoy Ratchet for a change."

Considering the circumstances they were both in, Mudflap should have stopped laughing because of the pain that raced up his spinal strut and branched out across the rest of his extremities from use of his injured leg and waving both of his twisted arms around.

But one look backwards and he could see the upset twin, and his amusement came right back and stronger.

 **~=[,,_,,]:3**

Blaster exited the control room and strolled down the hall towards the surveillance room with purpose in each step. As he neared an intersection of the hallways, the echoing of familiar laughter and shouts made him slow his pace.

The Communications Officer narrowed his optics when Mudflap crossed through the intersection in front of him, limping at a pace so fast while crippled that looked simply ridiculous. Somehow that did little to halt his snorts of laughter and wipe the amused joy from his faceplates.

Skids on the other hand had his limbs in better shape, but somehow was still just as fast as his twin in pace. The scuffed green torso looked flattened across the front and back and warped around the sides. The poor twin's helm looked no better, and his young, handsome features that looked similar to his brother's was now ridiculously featureless and immobilized. Although it was somewhere in his optics that indicated how frustrated and angry he was with his twin. No doubt from the amusement with their predicament.

Blaster's optics followed them silently with a blank expression as they passed in front of him. At this point, he's completely stopped at the opening, feeling confused and entertained as they sprint right past without sparing him a glance.

Mudflap was giggling so loudly in a continuous cycle that it echoed around the halls, agitating Skids even further.

"Get yo aft back 'ere!" he snarled at his orange twin. "I'mma make ya so sorry that Ratchet will look like a saint!"

Blaster leaned forward and turned his helm to watch as they disappeared around the next corner. As soon as their voices faded, no doubt getting closer to the medbay, he straightened up and continued his marching down the hall, as if nothing happened.

He knocked twice on the door before Prowl summoned him inside. As soon as the doors slid shut, Blaster was unable to hold his composure any longer, and started breaking out into wheezy cackles. Red Alert, who was only just discussing with Prowl about upping security, stood and stared at the mech as he released a fit of giggles, and at some point rolled around on the floor, banging it with his servo.

Prowl remained as he was, with his arms crossed and looking confused about how this came on. "Are you glitched?" Clearly he wasn't amused, either.

"What is wrong with you?" Red Alert inquired as he took a step closer, as if he could catch some sort of answer through his optics by examining the Cybertronian.

"S-Skids...Mudf-flap," Blaster's entire frame shook with effort to suppress his laughter. "Chasing each other," he pounded the ground with his fist again. "Limping all over the place." And then he lost all control over himself. "Def-formed plates!"

Prowl glanced over at Jazz, who was on monitor duty, to see him looking over camera footage to see what Blaster was talking about. Within moments, he found results and started chuckling at the sight as well.

Seeing the Twins yet again like this sent Blaster into yet another fit, and this time Jazz laughed harder in turn. Prowl vented deeply and shook his helm, "What am I going to do with you?"

 **….**

Skids glared at Mudflap. "Ya know, I still don' forgive ya for dat."

The orange twin merely shrugged without a care. "I know ya'll get over dat eventually. After all, Ratchet was in a good enough mood ta fix ya."

Mona relaxed a bit more against Leo's chest. As he promised, he hasn't gotten grabby...yet. "Ironhide doesn't sound very kind," she mused.

Skids dropped his grumpy expression and lightened up. "Meh, he's always meant well. At least he doesn't laugh at everyone's misery."

"I wish I got pictures," Mudflap smugly stated.

The green twin growled, "I'd punch yo lights out if we wasn't tellin' a story."

Leo sighed, "Okay, so you guys learned teamwork and figured out how to work with weapons. Could have fooled me on the battlefield, seeing how Mudflap's apparently the one who's better with a gun but _somehow_ managed to _accidentally_ shoot Skids in the face." He shrugged, "Still though, carry on."

Mona's eyes widened, "What battle field?"

"Egypt," her boyfriend stated as if that answered everything. Mona figured she may just have to do some deep research or ask about it later. "I don't believe that part about you guys once looking handsome. You had to have added that in."

"We didn't!" Mudflap argued back. "It was a bad accident!"

Skids remained oddly quiet on the subject. "We'll get to dat incident soon," was all he said about it.

Mona frowned sympathetically, "How did it happen?"

 **….**

 _3 Stellar Cycles Later..._

"Slagging glitch heads," Ratchet grumbled, refraining from hitting either mech over the helm with his wrench. He was beginning to think that no matter how many times he did it, they still wouldn't learn.

Mudflap whimpered pathetically as he tried to keep still while the medic was welding his main energon lines shut. "I ain't sorry! We made dat mission successful!"

"At a stupid cost!" Skids protested, rubbing at his shoulder joint that had just recently been reattached to its rightful place on his body. "We was nearly fragged by da 'Cons!"

The orange 'Bot glared at his twin. "We fought at dat mine and _won_! Think about all dat energon we claimed for our team! It was worth it."

 _Clang._

"Ow!" Mudflap rubbed the extra dent in his helm, and glared at Ratchet. Sometime, it could be a solar cycle or a vorn, but he would rob the medic of all his wrenches.

Nobot could argue that his bedside manner was terrible.

If there was anything that both twins agreed on being upset about, it was their failure to beat their personal records of not having to pay a visit to the medbay for a full cyber-week.

They were so close to beating that record too.

It wasn't that they disliked Ratchet - on the contrary, they owed him a lot for putting up with raising them after their Carrier was slaughtered. They simply enjoyed exercising their freedom and not have to be threatened with a wrench every Breem in the medic's presence.

They both could remember that Solar cycle as if it was the last one.

It had been easy to find Iacon and enter the City-State, but it was incredibly hard to navigate, and they got lost very quickly. Skids and Mudflap were scared by the large crowd of Cybertronians, only ever accustomed to their small family. Eventually, they had just stopped and huddled in an alleyway, and did nothing but cling to each other desperately.

Both twins had been found by an Autobot on patrol, and brought into the medbay to meet the very medic their Carrier told them to find. It took a long time for the brothers to grow accustomed to their new environment. They'd grown up being discouraged to explore, but Ratchet had always told them they should - he didn't always want them in his medbay. He had once asked them who their Sire was, but neither twin knew aside from the fact that their creators were never bonded. Skids had asked their Carrier multiple times, but she never gave them a relevant answer, and eventually told them that their Sire was dead to her.

"Serves you right, ya know," Skids muttered to his brother crossly.

Mudflap shot his green counterpart a look. "I'm sorry, who was it again dat willingly took a shot to da back for you when ya couldn't find cover?"

Ratchet rolled his own optics. "That was _both_ of your faults!" He was glad that the younglings weren't timid anymore, but they've grown so comfortable around their team and environment that they had very few insecurities preventing them from bickering. At this point, they were too independent and confident for their own good. The medic shook his head; they've learned before, they can still learn more now. He didn't underestimate their intelligence - they were good at figuring things out...when they were motivated to.

Skids examined his armor and compared it to Mudflap's. They both looked exactly identical, aside from their paint colors - or what remained of it.

In the aftermath of their most recent mission, their thick, bulky armor that they've grown so accustomed to in battle, now looks dull, faded, and is riddled with dents. Scratches littered the surfaces with a few of them far too close for comfort near vital energon lines, circuits, or sensitive protoform plating.

Ratchet took care of their dents and injuries, but the scratches could be easily removed by anyone, so he more often than not left the task to the patient themself. However, Skids and Mudflap had to be the few he knew that didn't make time for such tedious work. They simply shrug and apply paint to themselves without first taking care of the scratches. Sunstreaker would often ridicule them for taking such poor care of their images, but the twins often retort that they're proud of their "battle scars" and whatnot.

Well, if they haven't started rusting already, then they can at least be trusted with properly practicing basic hygiene.

Ratchet sighed as he reattached Mudflap's final armor piece back on - his chestplate, which clasped on in its rightful place with a satisfying _click_ and _hiss_ as the catches hooked on.

"So? We good to go?" Skids asked.

"Yes," Ratchet sighed, "You're both ready to return to active duty. Report to Ironhide for whatever task he has for you."

The twins excitedly hopped off their respective berths and skipped out of the medbay with a chirpy 'Thanks' before they disappeared around a corner.

Ratchet shook his head and began reorganizing his tools as he fought the tug at the corner of his mouth plates.

 **~=[,,_,,]:3**

"Alright, here's the mission," Ironhide began, "We're going to infiltrate Kaon to gather intel."

Skids and Mudflap shared a curious glance as Sideswipe spoke up, "Are we going to stay under the radar?"

"Yes."

"What if we're discovered?"

"Then you'll become a distraction."

The younger twins snorted and shook from withheld laughter, earning a few glares from silent listeners.

Sunstreaker ignored the orange and green duo and sent a scowl towards his own brother for the task they've been given. Sideswipe, seemingly oblivious to Sunstreaker's distaste, grinned widely from the opportunity.

"I'm sure all of you know that I'm quite familiar with Kaon, so after you're assigned your own duties, I'll go over directions of where you go and what you do." He paused to let that sink in. "Alright, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are going to be constantly be moving around to check on the different groups of this operation, and will be available in case anyone needs help." It was also clear that the red and gold twins wouldn't need help navigating Kaon, seeing that they've spent a good chunk of their lifetimes fighting as gladiators in the pits alongside Megatron and Soundwave.

It was strange hearing stories about them, not only about how fortunate they were to not ever face off the mechs in any battle...yet, but they didn't behave in any way like gladiators typically would.

Ironhide's voice brought Skids and Mudflap back to the present time. "Mirage is going straight into the base to spy on Megatron and his officers with his camouflage. Cosmos and Gears will look through their hangars to analyze their equipment. Perceptor and Pipes will eavesdrop in the labs about any current or upcoming projects. Skids and Mudflap is stationed to spy on the Constructicons. Brawn and Inferno will watch the skies near Kaon's borders, and I will be searching Megatron's quarters for any plans or evidence."

Skids and Mudflap stood a bit straighter. It's clear they wouldn't have been assigned the Constructicons if anyone knew they held something against a certain Decepticon that killed their Carrier, but they weren't going to pass up this opportunity.

Both spent vorns training and maturing to prepare themselves for this moment, and the opportunity has arrived.

"Remember," Ironhide's voice become stern, "This is _reconnaissance_ , not battle. You are not to engage unless necessary." Oh, the twins deemed it necessary. "If you're discovered, you report it in. Keep your comlinks open. Dismissed."

 **~=[,,_,,]:3**

" **This is Mirage, ready to go in."**

" **Cosmos with Gears, awaiting orders to infiltrate."**

" **Brawn and Inferno here, we've got our optics on the sky for any unusual activity."**

" **Skids and Mudflap in position."**

" **Pipes here with Perceptor, we're ready to receive further orders."**

" **Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are ready to patrol."**

" **This is Ironhide. Begin infiltration, and remain in your designated position or with your targets unless ordered to retreat. Be cautious, and good luck. Ironhide out."**

Mudflap looked to Skids and gave a curt nod, and they got down on the ground to crawl forward. It took time searching, but they discovered the Constructicons near the borders of Kaon. At first they thought it was unusual, until it became clear that this was a quiet area for projects.

It was dangerously close the the smelting pools, though.

Then again, perhaps they are also useful for engineering and crafting with metal.

The twins reached the edge of the short cliff they camped out on and peeked over the edge to gaze upon the six Constructicons going about building something, but neither paid attention to that.

"There." Skids pointed at one them, and Mudflap nodded. "I remember him like it's last Solar cycle."

Mudflap narrowed his optics and strained his audials to listen after turning on his recording device, and his brother followed suit.

The whole ground seemed to shudder, a screeching sound was heard before the whine of failing machinery was heard. One of the 'Cons groaned, "Great, the turbines are acting up again. We're gonna need more minerals to feed it - Rampage and Scrapper, that means you guys go get more. Head back into Kaon's warehouses to get more."

Another Constructicon - Skids and Mudflap's target - spoke up. "Alright then, Scavenger, you and Longhaul can head down below and check on the turbines and see what's wrong. I'll stay here to keep putting the components of Project: _Harbinger_ together."

Without another word, four of the six 'Cons left, leaving their target and another member behind. The orange twin glanced at his counterpart but remained silent. It was best that their words weren't picked up on the recorder, so Mudflap opened a private comm.

" **Got any ideas for a distraction?"** he asked his brother.

" **You sure we can't just take 'em? We're stronger and faster this time. We have more experience."**

" **We both know you or I would pass up an opportunity to take on our Carrier's killer for somebot else we don't know,"** Mudflap stated firmly, and Skids knew he was right.

Skids thought hard for a moment. He didn't have any good ideas, but figured that maybe examining their surroundings might bring something up.

The green Autobot looked behind him, up above, all around and then leaned closer to the edge to see if anything down below could help.

"-I still don't get the point of Project: _Harbinger_ is all about." The Constructicon drawled on, and it was clear to the 'Bots, even far away, that his companion was rolling his optics.

Skids leaned even closer to the edge and his servo scraped against the surface, making a scratchy sound as a few small chunks broke loose and toppled down to clatter on the ground.

Mudflap pulled his twin back and they moved out of sight, waiting silently.

"Did you hear that?" Their target's companion asked, completely forgetting his earlier discussion.

The more silent and annoyed Constructicon shrugged, "All I hear is that chatter box that you call a vocalizer. Do you ever turn it off?" He jested in what sounded like a deadpan voice.

That voice belonged to the mech that severed their bond with Carrier. That mech attacked them and then left the two for dead when they were weak and helpless.

That murderer needed to be shown the pain that he caused, and neither twin cared about the possible consequences. This was personal.

The mech paused, and then changed the subject. "Did you send in that report yet?"

"What report?" His companion asked.

He sighed in frustration. "That update on Project: _Harbinger_ ," he clarified.

"I've got it finished, but I didn't turn it in yet."

Even the twins could see from their perch that he was getting irritated with the other Constructicon that apparently can't take a hint. "Hightower, go send Megatron that report before it's overdue. I won't tolerate any false indications that we're slacking under our Lord's command. I don't care if you have to crush Starscream or flatten our other superior officers to get it in on time, but I want you to do it."

"Okay," Hightower agreed.

And then he just stood there, blinking his optics at their target in silence.

The mech didn't even bother to hide his frustration. "Hightower," he lowered his tone to a deep rumble. A warning.

"Yes?" Hightower answered patiently.

Mudflap rolled his optics and heard Skids desperately try to hold in his giggle. So far, he wasn't doing a good job.

"NOW!" Their target shouted. "Get the report! Go to Megatron! Turn it in! NOW!"

Hightower scrambled in surprise, somehow taken by surprise from the outburst and dashed to retrieve the data pad and rushed out of the sight to head back to their base of operations.

" **I guess we won't need that distraction."** Mudflap mused in satisfaction, and Skids sent his agreement over their bond as they both inched back to the edge to peek at the mech again.

The lone Constructicon sighed in frustration and rubbed at his helm, and then paused.

Then the mech turned his gaze upward.

He looked straight. At. Them.

Both Autobots froze under that cold, crimson gaze. They were younglings again, staring at the very mech that mercilessly took the life of the Cybertronian they loved most.

"I thought somebot was up there," he rumbled.

Mudflap was the first to recover from his shock and stood up with a glare. "Well it shouldn't have taken ya so long ta figure it out," he shot back. This obviously wasn't part of the plan, but it couldn't hurt to at least pretend that it was, for the sake of their pride.

Skids glanced up at his other half as he carefully got to his peds. He was worried.

Then the mech laughed.

He _laughed_.

"Not only did the Autobots send _younglings_ , but they sent _younglings_ with _attitude_!" He burst into another fit of cackles that stopped just as quickly as they started. "Whoever organizes your missions certainly want you _dead_ ," he snarled dangerously.

Certain that the mech wouldn't shoot at them... _yet_ , Mudflap began climbing down the cliff.

"M-Mudflap," Skids hissed in warning, but earned a hard look from his twin.

This was what they came for. So they were going to get it.

With a deep vent, the green twin relented and carefully followed his brother.

Surprisingly, their enemy stood still and watched silently as they got down to his level. To Mudflap, that hinted that either this mech wasn't as bloodthirsty as they expected, or he was curious enough to request answers...maybe both.

The moment Mudflap's peds touched the metal below, everything felt warmer - no doubt from all the smelting pools nearby.

Their target still hadn't moved, but simply analyzed them with curiosity. "You don't seem afraid," he observed.

"Oh, we are," Skids worked up the courage to speak with conviction that seemed to counter his fear. "We're just more determined than we are afraid."

The mech smirked. "You're either braver than most, or _stupid_."

"You mean just as stupid as you were to not finish off what you started?" Mudflap sassed to get the attention away from Skids. He knew that the repercussions wasn't something his brother was good at dealing with compared to him.

The 'Con's optics narrowed as he scrutinized them, trying to figure out the meaning of Mudflap's words.

"Enlighten me," he invited them.

"The Manganese Mountains," was Mudflap's simple reply.

The mech's optics brightened a few shades, and they knew he remembered. "I've been to the mountains many times," he claimed in a way almost as if he was part of a casual conversation. "They're quite a sight to see at a certain time every Orbital cycle."

"You murdered our Carrier!" Skids exploded. "You took her away from us, and left us for dead!"

Then the mech smirked.

He _smirked_!

"I should have known that her little pit spawns could be just as resilient as her," he mocked.

That fragger!

Mudflap ground his denta, "You ain't seen anythin' yet!" he signaled his twin, and they both rushed him.

He was ready for them. The mech lifted both of his fists and then brought them down hard on the ground, causing it to shake and only just missed Skids, who selected a sword to wield as his choice weapon - he was better at using it than Mudflap anyway.

Mudflap charged his cannon and rolled out of the way just as the clenched servos came down again. He signaled his twin over the bond to try and get behind their target while he himself proceeded to act as the big distraction.

The best idea he had was to show off everything he learnt from Ironhide.

The orange twin aimed his cannon and shot straight for all of the weak spots and openings in the mech's armor that he still clearly remembered.

More irritated than injured, like the time before, the Constructicon growled and activated the ginormous gun he carried on his back, and leaned forward to angle it the right way.

Then he set it on automatic and fired.

Mudflap wasn't sure how his Carrier managed to completely avoid this kind of onslaught, and he wished that she or Ironhide actually took the time to mention automatic gun warfare techniques from offense to defense.

He knew it would be wise to take cover, but the only available area would be on top of that cliff, but he couldn't scale it now. There's a big gun firing at him still.

Down here, it was nothing but barren wasteland with barely any scrap metal left to barricade between himself and his opponent.

And this whole field was dotted randomly with different sized smelting pools.

It seemed that the only one safe in this battle was Skids at the moment, as he managed to get around so the 'Con's back was facing him, and he moved to scale up the adult's leg.

Mudflap dropped down to the ground for only a moment before he rolled and got back up to his peds, zig-zagging this way and that in the attempt to dodge the bullets slicing through the air towards him.

Pain suddenly flared up in his side and he hissed while moving in the opposite direction. He didn't miss the satisfied smirk on his enemy's faceplates from the accomplishment, only making the youngling upset from these circumstances.

Mudflap's optics flicked to Skids only for a brief Nano-cycle and brought his attention back to the Constructicon as he moved a bit closer, still doing his best to dodge the shots, but his side flared in pain, and he felt the same sensation in his opposite shoulder now. He was beginning to falter.

The youngling looked back up at his brother, who already reached the grown mech's lower back and he realized something: he seemed to have completely forgotten that there was a second.

Mudflap knew he wasn't _that_ great at distracting, which meant that that Constructicon could only focus on one specific thing at a time.

He shared this new found information over their private comm, and Skids began working out a way to use this as best as possible. Even he couldn't stay on his back for long.

Then Mudflap suggesting pulling what they used on Ironhide that one time…

" **NO!"** Was his twin's immediate reply over their private comm.

" **If it worked on Ironhide, then it'll work on him."** Mudflap reasoned as his ped came in contact with a spot on the ground right next to an area that was just shot at while he was dodging the other rounds. " **I know we've both learned from that experience."**

Skids didn't argue anymore, and Mudflap felt resignation on the other end of their bond, so it was settled, even if his twin still didn't agree.

The green youngling raised his sword while clinging to the mech's armor and brought down between the shoulder blades, just missing the spinal strut when it slid between the armor chinks.

The mech roared in agony, and the onslaught of bullets stopped. Mudflap appreciated no longer being threatened in such a way now, but didn't waste any time by standing to watch what was happening in the tussle between his brother and their opponent. He retracted his cannon back into his arm and his servo reached for the small knife he kept on him. While he lacked skills in swordsmanship, that wasn't to say he was awful with sabotage or mutilation involving a smaller blade.

Silently, the orange youngling jumped up as high as he could when he neared the target, and clung to the Constructicon's shin. He adjusted his grip and then climbed up a bit higher until the backside of the knee was within his reach. Mudflap reached up and grasped the leg plating and hauled himself up higher until he found a good foothold as well. Another moment was spent getting his bearings before he tightened his grip on the knife. He readied himself to drive it through the cables.

Then he received a comm.

" **This is Ironhide checking in. Report!"**

Oh great, the last thing the twins needed at the moment was a distraction!

" **Brawn and Inferno here, there's no unusual activity as far as we can see."**

" **Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, so far we've seen nothing exciting, besides experiencing a close call with Decepticons on patrol."**

" **This is Gears. Cosmos and I have been noticing a lack of quality in a few engines. We have reason to believe that there's more effort put into engineering something else...or they decided to make drones take over manufacturing."**

Mudflap knew something was wrong with that. He knew even a common Vehicon could at least put good effort into building something.

" **Pipes reporting in. Perceptor and I have heard something about a Project titled** _ **Harbinger**_ **, though we haven't picked up what it's about yet."**

" **This is Mirage, I've hear Megatron discussing the same thing, but details are scarce. I think they're building a ship, from what I'm gathering so far."**

He gritted his denta as he tried to focus on the task at hand. He was doing a poor job of blocking out his comm because he didn't want to miss anything important, but now he's distracted.

Mudflap shook his helm and it didn't escape his notice of how much the Constructicon was moving around. He looked up and noticed the heavily armored upper limbs were flailing as the mech's attention was now entirely on Skids as he tried to dislodge him.

" **Skids! Mudflap! What's your status?"** Ironhide's voice boomed through their communications, and he winced.

" **Uh, we heard the Constructicons discussing- GAH!"** Skids was cut off when a hit was landed, but he was alright for the time being. Mudflap could feel it too.

" **Project:** _ **Harbinger**_ **was mentioned as well, but we've heard nothing else."** The orange youngling tried to smooth it over, but he knew that they were aware something wasn't right.

" **What's going on over there?!"**

Mudflap clung tighter to where he was gripping the Constructicon's plating. This situation was ridiculous: Skids and himself were fighting for their lives while trying to play it cool with their teammates. He berated himself for thinking that it was smart thinking that way.

" **The Constructicons split but a lone mech spotted us."** Mudflap admitted, even sounding sheepish over the comm. " **We're seeing no way out without a fight."**

His brother's voice sounded strained when he added, " **But we're doin' our best."**

There was silence over the comm for a long moment, and they both knew that Ironhide suspected there were details left out. Regardless, " **We have enough information to warn the rest of the Autobots that the 'Cons are planning something. Rendezvous at the smelting pits with Skids and Mudflap. Ironhide out."**

Well, at least they'd get backup if the plan for revenge failed. So far, it wasn't turning out good, but it was honestly better than Mudflap imagined the worst case scenario to be, so at least it counted for something.

Mudflap didn't realize that by then, the mech had pulled his brother off his back and was holding the youngling in one servo, _crushing_ him, and the sword was abandoned, still sticking out of his back.

He felt the pain through the bond first and gasped from the phantom sensations.

Then he gripped his knife tighter, stabbed into the backside of their target's knee joint, and _sliced_.

It truly amazed him that if one were to receive proper combat training, that it'd be surprisingly easy to sever circuits and energon lines with a simple blade, nothing special. As long as they knew where to look.

Everything tore under his knife as easily as tin foil.

The Constructicon let out a staticy shout that mostly consisted of profanities that neither twin had heard before, and then he lost his balance.

Mudflap got out of the way in time, but he was disappointed with how quickly a giant servo found him when they landed on the ground.

He glanced at his green twin and was relieved that he didn't look too horrible - after all, they had endured worse in training.

What neither expected was for the mech to actually _throw_ them in a random direction; anywhere away from their current position.

They tumbled and rolled for what felt like forever and earned countless dings and scratches as their bodies skipped across the metallic ground.

When the twins finally stopped rolling, they were a bit too close for comfort to a large smelting pool that could probably fit in their entire team. Neither could have it in them to move - they weren't seriously injured, aside from scratches and metal burn, but they were just in pain. Mudflap felt that it was mostly Skids that was hurt now, but he also got shot a couple of times. He suspected that they were sharing phantom pains in an endless feedback loop over their bond.

A downside to being twins, he supposed.

Groaning, Skids stirred and lifted his helm. "M-Mudflap," he croaked out.

He heard his twin, and managed to online his optics to take in what's happening. They're both lying dangerously close to a smelting pool, pain roaring through their circuits.

Their enemy has gotten back up and hobbled toward them, his injured leg dragged behind in its inability to support the large frame.

Determination flared through Skids that overpowered the discomforting sensations he felt, and he fed that through the bond to Mudflap. They helped each other the best they could, and got to their peds as well. Just for a bit longer, they could make it through this ordeal and put up with the pain.

They would have their revenge, even if it killed them too.

With that in mind, Mudflap activated his cannon, and Skids followed suit. The Constructicon had managed to pull the sword out of his back, and carelessly tossed it into a smelting pool. Both knew it was both strange and irrational, but Skids felt a pang of sorrow from the loss of his favorite weapon, and it bled through the bond to Mudflap.

Yet another thing to add to the list of horrible things this mech committed, small as it was.

It also wasn't lost on Mudflap that his recording device was missing. A quick glance around was all he needed to spot it near the cliff they'd scaled to get down here. At least it wasn't broken...yet.

But it picked up everything.

The Constructicon didn't rush them as they expected him to though. The moment they were within his reach, he just stopped and stared down at them. Then he chuckled.

Mudflap glared back and Skids stiffened.

"I don't see many changes from our last fight," he commented darkly. "Except I intend not to make the same mistake of leaving you behind. This time, I'll ensure _both_ of you don't survive."

Wordlessly, both twins shared a glance before turning to face him again.

"Just tell us somethin'," Skids requested in hope to buy more time. Things weren't looking good now, and they knew they should attack. "Who were you to our Carrier?"

But the twins needed answers. They wanted closure first.

Somehow, Mudflap thought that question would only amuse the Constructicon further, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.

The dark mech glared. "She never told you anything, did she?"

"We only knew da rules to survive," Skids admitted.

Their opponent chuckled, but there was no sick humor. It was empty, dare they say: a bit frustrated. "My designation is Mixmaster," he revealed bluntly. And then he sighed, "It's a shame that I had expected so much more from you."

He was leaving something else out, something important. "What are ya talkin' 'bout?" Mudflap knew he shouldn't take the bait, but he couldn't help it.

Mixmaster smirked, but there was nothing genuine. Mudflap wasn't fooled, he could see the disappointment in his optics. This mech had always sought to kill them, and he expected a more glorious event, not to just stand there and spell it all out for them.

"Of course your Carrier would never tell you who your Sire was," he hinted.

This mech had to be lying. It was a sick joke. But something wasn't right with all of this. Mixmaster wasn't smirking anymore.

Mudflap's circuits froze with dread, and Skids felt the same way. This mech couldn't possibly be-

"You're not him!" Skids denied and threw himself at Mixmaster, his cannon warmed up and ready to fire. "You don't deserve that title!"

Mudflap's warning to his brother came too late. The Constructicon wanted to taunt them into making a move first so he could simply stand and watch them. Analyze them. Wait to see how exactly they would attack him.

His large servo came up, and then it came down on both of them twice as fast. It connected painfully with Skids, and Mudflap felt a flare of phantom pains before his green counterpart came his way and hit him. It knocked both of them off balance.

Then the twins fell into the smelting pool.

* * *

 **Alright, I know that I've been making this more about Mudflap, and that was an over correction because Skids is actually my favorite out of both of them and I was worried that I'd make it too much about him. However, I've found that I write best when it's based on a character's thoughts than something completely neutral. I'm going to switch it up a bit by trying to put next chapter in more of Skids's view, sound good? Okay, I also wanted to clear something else up: Skids and Mudflap hold the SAME personality traits, but I also indicated that their behavior differs a little bit more. Mudflap is acting like the older brother taking care of his more timid sibling, but that's how their relationship is established with each other and the rest of their team. It has nothing to do with their feelings, alright? Cool. :)**

 **I would also like to thank those of you who have been reading so far. I appreciate the votes I've been getting for my poll, but I'm also disappointed from the lack of detailed reviews. There's ALWAYS something I can improve on, whether it's dealing with typos, pace of the plot, character behavior. Heck, criticism and requests will be taken to heart, but I'd like to keep compliments down low so there's nothing sappy. As much as I like the love on this site, I need to GROW as a writer, so I'm just waiting for that special person to come along and pound me into the ground (no, seriously).**

 **Okay, great! Have a wonderful day, or night, my wonderful readers that are kind enough to read my lengthy Author's Notes and even lengthier chapter!**

 **Tron Lives! And...uh...**

 **'Till All Are One? A bit lengthy, but I'll work on developing something more original ;)**


	4. Charred Luck

**Charred Luck**

Mona thought it was horrible enough when she learned how painful it was for them to watch the life leave their Carrier, their Mother. To add insult to the injury, the one to kill her was their own Father, who hated the twins from the very start.

And then their botched attempt for revenge only brought upon them more questions, more bitterness, and a whole new world of pain from both the big revelation and the fact that they'd fallen into what's considered as the Cybertronian equivalent to hot lava.

Only yesterday she'd have thought that her sensory issue was the biggest problem going on in the world. How pathetic and self-centered that thought was in itself. It was painful to see how big some other people's problems were compared to her own. She'd learnt the same lesson over and over again before through tragic stories and news reports, but like every other person she knew, it never completely stuck with her. And now, this time was no different, except the fact that robotic aliens were telling their story, and it somehow seemed more personal than any other story she'd heard for a very long time.

Which raised another thing she needed addressed…

"I have a question," Mona spoke up quietly, her voice seeming more timid, even though there's nothing to be afraid of. "You guys don't even know me that well; you came out here looking for Leo, yet you somehow let me tag along." She bit her lip. "What I'm trying to point out is that this is a very sensitive subject, even for protectors and their charge. Why did you both trust me to sit here and listen the whole time?" If she was anybody else, Mona could have felt the temptation to jab or tease what's been happening to "mindless robots" and criticize the possibility of them having emotions and capable of feeling hurt.

The twins shared a glance with surprised looks, as if they never considered the thought beforehand, or perhaps because it seemed partially off-subject that they didn't expect the question to pop up right now.

"Well," Skids started. "Ya're his mate, aren't cha?"

His what?

This time, Mona and Leo stared at each other with surprise and an air of awkwardness. "This is our first date." Leo spoke for her in a sheepish tone.

"But, Leo could have been hanging out with anyone less trustworthy than me," Mona elaborated. "That's just the way he is. You guys couldn't have just gone off of a simple observation like that, did you?" It worried Mona; sure, she's trustworthy, but she knew a few of Leo's other friends that would've taken the opportunity to snap a picture and post it on the social media or something.

What surprised her even more, though, was their simple response.

"We trust Leo, so we's gonna trust anyone he trusts."

Even that statement seemed to make her boyfriend pause to process what they just said. Mudflap said it in such a way he made it sound like the most obvious thing in the world, but she suspected that there was more depth to all of this than just their claim. Leo naturally holds grudges against people for even the simple things, and judging from how he behaves towards the 'Bots, their first impression was anything but a good one.

So what changed between them? The twins have gone through too much to just trust anyone blindly. The twins clearly helped to redeem themselves in such a way that might have lessened any antipathy that her boyfriend would have held against them. At the same time, Leo said or did something that made him fractionally worth the effort of befriending or being close to.

After all, she's very sure that alien robots have more important things to do than cozy up to a random civilian.

Personally, Mona had never been in a dire situation that was anything close to the Egypt incident that they keep mentioning, let alone any opportunity to form unusual connections to people she otherwise wouldn't associate herself with.

She'll never completely understand the strength or reasoning behind that kind of relationship, but she's seen enough about it to know that it's powerful - despite the seemingly contradicting messages that Leo constantly sends outwards.

"Plus, we's hacked inta his laptop. We knows everythin' 'bout 'im," Skids whispered lowly so only she could hear.

Well that explained a lot now, and helped Mona relax a bit more from knowing that it wasn't _just_ blind trust. Especially after all they've been through.

Surprisingly, Leo seemed to be in deep thought at the moment, and slowly shook his head. "Damn, even I couldn't imagine any of that happening to me in my entire lifetime." Mona craned her neck to look up at him behind her and saw how conflicted he appeared inside, though he seemed to try and hide it. No matter what happened from here on out, he could never think of the twins like before ever again. "You guys weren't the same after that, were you?"

There was a pregnant pause. "It...affected us in mor' ways den one," was Mudflap's hesitant reply.

Skids stared at the ground. "I'll never forget wha' happened." He sounded drained as it was, and Mudflap's voice was even more guarded, more careful. Mona suspected that they were close to losing control and reaching an emotional breaking point. It suggested that the aftermath of what happened was...somehow even worse than what happened in Kaon with Mixmaster.

… **.**

Time seemed to have slowed down even more as it kept going. What was really an Astrosecond felt like a Klik. When a Klik passed, it seemed like a Breem. When a full Breem went by, it seemed more like a Decavorn. They hadn't even been alive for a full Decavorn yet, but it felt like forever.

The twins had fallen into a smelting pit, a result from making the mistake of seeking revenge against the Constructicon known as Mixmaster.

Smelting pools were dangerous, but still took time to break down the unfortunate victims that fall in. The extra time taken to slowly kill a Cybertronian only made it feel more painful. It was a horrible way to die.

Mudflap and Skids had developed a habit on the battlefield - encouraged by Ironhide - to keep their twin bond wide open to hear each other's thoughts, feel their physical state and send/receive short-range communications, pings, and other various signals. The downside of it was feeling phantom pains if one of them got hurt.

The moment they fell into the smelting pit, it was pure agony from the unbelievable heat, but they were in so much shock that they went still, unbelievably silent than they ever were in their earlier lives. It only got worse when the sensations traveled between both of them in a seemingly endless feedback loop that seemed to become more and more excruciating the longer it kept going. Mudflap had eventually managed to throw up a barricade to make it stop for both of them, but there was still little relief in even that small act.

They were being melted alive, bit by bit, the fluid leaked between their armor plating, which was also breaking apart molecule by molecule, and the insulation around their cables started to dissolve, further exposing their sensitive neural wiring.

From the more direct senses, their raw circuitry began firing even more pain signals to their processor, which was frying from the overload of messages and the heat of their harsh, deadly environment. Both finally screamed until static formed in their vocalizers, started to thrash, which only stirred up the molten liquids even more, and speeding up the process of melting them down.

Skids only wanted death to come for him faster; he didn't want to live after this suffering. If only he and his brother could completely sink beneath the surface, it would all happen at a more speedy pace. It's just anyone's bad luck that the pure substance that makes up the majority of the fluid in smelting pools is more dense than most Cybertronians or material, so anything that falls in would bob on the surface until it's completely broken down into slag. And then that molten metal simply remains floating until it drifts to the edge of the pool to make contact with the edge and begins the gradual process of cooling back down and becoming one with the planet.

Before any of this happened, the twins would have thought that literally becoming part of the circumference around a smelting pool would be a pathetic way to go, and thus, would have tried to avoid that. The problem was that neither of them thought of this before confronting Mixmaster, and didn't use enough caution. Their foolishness got them into this whole mess and now they both want nothing more than to feel a peaceful calmness before death, similar to what their Carrier had in comparison before she left to become one with the All Spark.

Both brothers were dead to the world, and so trapped in their own agony and desperation that they never noticed their nemesis simply turning to walk away and leave them to their fates, satisfied with his victory, and their manner of death. It was only a few Kliks later that two sets of footsteps were approaching the area, paused for a few Nanocycles, and then bolted towards the two bobbing figures in a random pool - Brawn and Inferno.

Skids and Mudflap weren't even aware of the grapples that were shot outwards and hooked onto whatever was left of them, and then began to reel them over to the edge. Servos grasped parts of their cooler, less damaged plating to haul them out of the searing dense liquid, and gently laid them on the ground.

Both mechs that saved the twins thought that everything would be better from there, but they couldn't have been more wrong.

After being submerged in a smelting pool that slowly melted away their armor plating, the protection around their neural circuits, and sensitive protoform, their ruined sensor net was further exposed. Now their heated, almost completely melted bodies were exposed to the chilling air that was rapidly cooling the softened or even liquidated metal around their joints, cables, and energon lines. The sudden temperature change wasn't just detected by exposed neurons; the signals were also amplified. It caused the twins additional pain that couldn't be helped. Some of their brittle dermal plating cracked from the temperature that rapidly cooled it, and it didn't help their pain any.

The twins started screaming all over again and attempted to thrash around like before, completely out of their right state of mind. Neither were able to notice, but their rescuers were terrified, and started to panic at the primal state the two younglings were in. They quickly commed the rest of their team to come quickly with utmost urgency in their voices.

It wasn't until then that they realized a mistake: when they set down the half melted twins and began to cool, they became practically welded to the ground.

By that time, Skids and Mudflap's frames cooled to the point that they were still scorching to the touch, but was completely solidified and nearly immobile so all they could do was groan from the agony, immobile and glued down. Sparks were seen from any visible circuit and Inferno could have sworn that smoke was wafting from their helms now. He nor Brawn were medics, and didn't hold a lot of knowledge regarding such emergencies, but they knew that smoke was a very bad were relieved that Perceptor arrived when he did. Although the mech was a scientist, at least he knew frames and their functions a lot better than the other two did, and would be able to perform whatever field repairs he could possibly do.

At least that's what they thought. Perceptor probably would have been sufficient for minor injuries until they got back to base, but this was so severe that it may take a whole army of medics to fix if they ever wanted Skids and Mudflap to survive this.

Everyone stood back as Perceptor did what he could for them, mostly dulling down their sensory net so they would feel less pain. At this point, if their pain receptors were deactivated, there's a chance that it may never start up again if - no, _when_ they're repaired. Both still groaned while the scientist contemplated how it would be best to separate them from the metallic ground.

Meanwhile Ironhide scouted out the area and caught sight of their discarded recording device near the base of the cliff, undamaged. He picked it up and subspaced it for later examination, and continued patrolling nearby to watch out for incoming hostiles.

Frustrated, Perceptor turned to the bystanding team members, "Why isn't anybody contacting Iacon?! We need an immediate groundbridge! Send Ratchet and every other medic that's available."

Cosmos immediately opened up a long-distance comm to Blaster, informed him of their setting and parroted the exact instructions Perceptor had given. A bridge had opened up within Nanocycles and Ratchet was the first one through, followed by First Aid, Jolt, Digitalon, and Fixit.

"Slag! They're a mess!" Digitalon exclaimed. "Ratchet, what's your verdict?" He was clearly nervous, he didn't know the twins well, but he didn't want to give up on them just yet.

"I'm not writing them off." Ratchet stated with unquestionable determination, as both CMO and as their guardian. He'd sooner choose to go to the pit before he let them offline without helping them somehow.

"So...how are you going to remove them?" Pipes asked while Perceptor respectively made way for the medics. "Are you gonna use a welder to heat the metal back up, or…?"

"SHUT UP!" Ratchet snapped as he examined his delirious patients. "Welders are used for fusing two objects together, it can't be used for the opposite purpose!" He turned to Perceptor. "Are their pain receptors toned down?" He received a quick nod in affirmative. "Good, because they'll not want to feel the brunt of this." Then he proceeded to transform his servo into a buzzsaw.

"Wait. You're not going to seriously CUT them OUT, are you?!" Brawn asked. "There must be another way to salvage what's stuck-"

Jolt looked at Brawn cooly. "Are you a medic?" he inquired.

Brawn paused and said, "No."

This time Digitalon stepped up after running a diagnostic scan on both twins. "We're currently in enemy territory. Our top priority is getting our patients to safety once they are stable enough to move. And look at the state they're in; very little of that is salvageable." Ratchet's saw started up and he began severing the welds Mudflap had that tied him down as Digitalon continued. "About 94.29% of Skids's frame will have to be replaced, and that's including all of the damaged energon lines, circuitry wiring, and protoform plating. Mudflap needs 82.61% of his own frame either repaired however way possible, or replaced. There's very little use for the remainder of their bodies anyway; a miracle they're still alive. They'd be better off if we just built them new frames and performed an emergency spark transfer-"

"NO!" Ratchet's voice cut them off. He'd finished freeing Mudflap, and the incoherent twin was placed in the care of Fixit and First Aid, who were less focused on talking, and more on their patient. "The twins won't want new bodies. They'll be willing to keep whatever they have left that ties them to their past." He left out that it's all they truly had left of their family besides their twin bond. As their guardian, he knew what was best for them, and what they'd prefer.

Everybody went silent after that, and Ratchet began cutting Skids out of the ground as the two other medics transported Mudflap through the groundbridge and directly into the medbay. Ironhide returned from his patrol by then. "Decepticons are coming this way," he informed them in a neutral, authoritative tone. "ETA five Breems. How long do you expect this to take?"

The roaring of the saw didn't quiet down, nor did the medic's speed slow as he thought of his answer. "About just as long, if I'm gentle." There was apprehensiveness in his voice. He never wanted to bring harm to his patients, even if the situation was dire. Ironhide knew that all too well.

The dark mech warmed up his cannons. "My team will cover you," he reassured his friend.

Everyone was silently preparing for a fight, weapons ready, as Ratchet kept grinding down on the solidified metal with his saw. A gurgling noise was then heard from Skids, and the CMO immediately stopped what he was doing.

"What did you say Skids?" Ratchet kept his tone level and calm, professional. But deep down, he felt worry, and a twinge of guilt, knowing that with their neural circuitry not offlined, he was still hurting both twins when trying to save their lives.

Skids struggled to speak, static was heard from his vocalizer for several painful Nanocycles, but a single undamaged blue optic focused on the medic's own aged ones. Then something just barely audible was spoken over the static, and reflected in the twin's pleading optics. "Just….. _Pzzzht_ ….stop….I-It….. _Pzzzzzht_ …..end me…... _Pzzzht_ ….p-please!"

Even though it was difficult to hear, everybody knew what was said. It was painful to see anybody this way, but it felt even worse to see them give up.

This was bad for Ratchet. In any dark situation, a twin would only be thinking about their other half, but Skids was begging to be killed quickly and painlessly, not paying any mind to Mudflap. It meant he was getting closer to a point of no return. He had to stop that progress.

The medic shook his head. "I can't do that Skids. What about Mudflap? He can't be left behind. He can't fight without you. You need each other."

The green youngling's entire manner gradually changed as Ratchet's words sunk in. His good optic widened in shock, and guilt. Then, in a stronger voice, he said, "Take...me to….. _Pzzzzht_ ….him."

There was more to that statement than what was just said. Skids wanted to be in the company of his twin as soon as he could. He had given Ratchet silent permission to work faster, albeit more carelessly when it came to being gentle.

The CMO gave the youngling a curt nod and restarted his saw to continue cutting through. Skids groaned and offlined his optic. "Digitalon! Perceptor, I need both of you to keep Skids conscious! We don't want him going under yet! Jolt, monitor his spark!"

Meanwhile Ironhide's optics started picking up on headlights of several grounders and a chopper. Everybody else was lining up between the medics and their opponents like living shields, weapons readied. Ratchet had cut through over three quarters of the metal, and was nearly through. Skids's groaning got louder, but he didn't beg Ratchet to stop. He was so close to freedom, so close to Mudflap...he couldn't give up.

The grinding sound of cutting immediately stopped as the saw severed through the last of solidified protoform and Primus knows what else. It met the and unyielding metallic ground directly underneath, the cool air could be seen battling the heat caused from the friction. Ratchet's saw transformed back into a servo and lifted up the upper half of the green twin. "Digitalon, help me out." The silver and light blue mech quickly nodded and gripped the lower half gently as they transported Skids through the green, white and blue portal.

Gunfire was heard through the other side, and the remainder of Ironhide's troops retreated through the bridge one by one, until their commander was the last one through. There was little more than scorch marks on their armor plating, nothing that couldn't be resolved with their repair nanites, or another coat of paint.

"EVERYONE OUT!" Ratchet bellowed as he set down Skids on a berth right next to Mudflap and drew some curtains for privacy. Soon, every mech had left except the five medics and their two only patients; the rest of the med bay was cut off from their makeshift ICU area, the other staff and patients were irrelevant at this point.

Slowly, so painfully slowly, Mudflap turned his helm a few degrees sideways to look at Skids, who appeared a lot worse than he did.

He knew exactly who to blame for that. Anger rose up quickly before the orange twin was able to come back to his senses and stamp it back down. What little remained of his precious energy had better uses than to waste it all on feelings he couldn't express at the moment.

There was a flicker through their twin bond before it began to fade rapidly. Digitalon had only just hooked both of them up to spark monitors before Skids's screen began to beep and flash in warning. It was only a matter of time before Mudflap was in the same way. Ratchet cursed and started barking out orders. "Jolt! Electrify! Keep his spark active!" He turned to Fixit and told him to help First Aid with keeping Mudflap stable. If one twin started going critical, then the other one would quickly follow downhill. Ratchet wasn't about to let that happen.

The CMO activated his saw again to carefully slice through Skids's chassis when he found the seam completely glued shut from the melted metal that recooled. He pried open the plating to expose the young, pulsating spark before sidestepping away to give Jolt more space.

The blue mech's electro whips were freed and curled around the spark casing before shocking the body. Any joints that were still movable on the green twin's body stiffened during each shock and relaxed after. Eventually, the spark rate started evening out, so they had a small window of opportunity to get through with their severe injuries first, and then work up to the minor damages.

But first, Ratchet needed more information. He commed Ironhide and asked him if anyone on his team knew how long the twins have been in the smelting pool. The weapons specialist said that nobody witnessed what happened, but their recording device and events that occurred during its running time could be timed to figure out when they likely fell in.

In the meantime, both twins were put into medical stasis, and four out of five medics - including Jolt - armed themselves with laser scalpels and began to more carefully cut away the useless pieces of metal. A lot of it had melted and resolidified into indescribable lumps that held nothing but weight and only got in the way of their view of the problems. Because it's only metal and hadn't likely gotten circuits and wires tangled and bundled together, it could probably be melted down again to reuse and redesign as new armor.

While the others were at work, Digitalon was going through the storage rooms to carry out boxes containing what was left of spare parts for replacements. Most of what they needed were neural circuitry, energon pumps, coolant lines, optics, and skeletal protoform materials that had yet to be measured and cut down to appropriate size and shape for the recipient. He also looked through the cupboards for other tools that they would be likely to fall back on if there were complications or anything unexpected.

Like Ratchet, he had some experience with working on smelting pool victims. Few actually survived out of the number of patients, but he knew what to expect: anything that isn't replaced will have to be ground down and smoothed out; joints would have to be cleaned of any shrapnel or loose pieces, and all circuitry looked over for any damage.

It was long, tedious work that really involved taking the patient apart piece by piece, even removing protoform plating to expose their metallic skeleton, neural wires, energon lines, coolant pumps, antifreeze pipes, their core processor, ingestion tank, and optic and audial cables to ensure that all of it worked correctly. Then they would have to sort through every other removed component and determine whether they could be repaired or not. Everything that was stripped off or was part of their base frame that couldn't be salvaged would have to be replaced. No doubt, every part of their internal workings were going to be a mess.

However, there were two critical organs that couldn't be repaired or replaced if there was severe damage, which were both the processor and the spark. The second of which usually meant that they either stayed on spark support full-time, or it'd fizzle out on their own. Neither fate was ideal for an Autobot warrior.

Sadly, the Autobots couldn't afford to support anybot for very long in that way, and had to let them go...almost every time. Ratchet analyzed both sparks and was relieved that he wouldn't have to face the pain of writing off more patients for the time being.

However, processor damage was the most common out of both, but also the most concerning if a patient was to survive. At least severe damage to a spark would determine whether they were able to live or not without constant spark support, and if they could even be saved. Processor damage could be anything from the logic circuits and thought center to the automatic bodily functions such as venting and temperature control to maintain homeostasis.

As the three other medics stripped the twins down to their barest components, Ratchet ran a diagnostic scan over each of their helms and frowned at the results.

Processor damage. It indicated that they've been in the smelting pool for at least four Kliks, and caused minor but irreparable damage to their logic and thinking centers; their fine motor skills may be less coordinated from thereon as well. There was also a chance that some of their memory files were fried due to the heat of the pool and the overload of sensory messages.

Ratchet couldn't say that there's shame or embarrassment from such a predicament. It only pained him to even think about how their social behavior, combat techniques, and thinking strategies would change after this. The twins were bound to become two different versions of their former selves. How fitting it was that they'd also be getting a complete body makeover and then some.

Jolt let loose a stream of curses that snagged Ratchet's attention. He was clutching a decent sized protoform piece that had partially melted and recooled. The problem was that it hadn't just caught some wires, but some of that metal has layered itself over an energon line, so it couldn't just be cut off. Ratchet picked up a grinding tool to carefully disconnect the majority of metal from the pump. Digitalon grabbed the tool from the CMO and got to work with Jolt while Ratchet went back to one of the cupboards to pick up a vial that was nearly empty. It was a "gift" of sorts he'd collected during one of his run-ins with a Decepticon scientist named Oil Slick in the battlefield. He put a few drops of the substance into a beaker and then diluted it before carefully bringing it back to the table next to Skids's berth.

He used a new pipette to suck up the fluid, and then slowly, bit by bit, put two drops of it over the metal that rested on top of the energon line. The metal fizzed and bubbled before dissolving, and Ratchet quickly rubbed the excess off with a clean rag that would have to be discarded later. He repeated the acid treatment several times in different areas until he was satisfied that all traces of metal was gone and the energon line was flexible again, and set the beaker and dropper aside on a table.

Ratchet got a comm from Ironhide at that moment which clarified that the twins had been in the smelting pit for about 8.4 Kliks. What bothered him was that the commanding officer found something else and he wished to discuss it with the medic whenever he was able to separate himself from the twins.

It took a long time - too long for Ratchet to track - but the twins were finally stripped down to the barest of their components. It looked disturbing, even haunting to see any Cybertronian like this. Every physical characteristic that one familiarizes himself with is suddenly taken away to see the very skeleton and organs of what makes up that person. The only trait that looked partially recognizable was whatever remained undamaged on their faceplates.

Surprisingly, their skeletons weren't as horrible as the medics expected, which showed how durable their external frames had been up until they were liquified from the smelting pool. Their coolant, antifreeze, and energon lines were a little deformed, at worst, from the extreme heat, but no part of their systems was deprived of their life blood. Their tanks were ruptured, but they hadn't had much energon before leaving for Kaon, so nothing was really lost. It wasn't fatal - the twins would require medical grade energon injections until it's repaired, however. Mudflap's audio receptors would need to be checked later, seeing that nobody was sure how well they worked after the majority melted off the helm. Skids on the other hand, didn't appear to have any difficulty communicating earlier, so at least that's in good shape. Lastly, at least one of each twin's optics were in bad enough shape to be replaced. Skids seemed to have a "good optic," but it's questionable how well it's actually functioning. It could clearly see, but Ratchet suspected that it was having trouble focusing. Mudflap's optics would be checked as soon as the rest of his vitals were examined and repaired.

From that point, they'd focus on building the twins back in the best way they can before bringing them out of medical stasis for their input...and to check on their psychological health.

 **~=[,,_,,]:3**

Ratchet vented deeply. Ironhide wouldn't be happy when he saw the state the twins' weapons were in...or lack thereof for Skids. The green youngling's sword was missing, presumably destroyed, and Mudflap's cannon was completely slagged from the smelter. The sad part was that Ironhide had those weapons designed specifically for them, in particular. That wasn't Ratchet's top priority, however; the physical state of his patients' frames were more important, then his team would move up to mental examination, given that they've endured processor damage, not to mention psychological trauma.

Speaking of Ironhide, he'd had that "talk" with him about what the recording device contained. Well, first he listened to the whole thing, and then quietly conversed with the weapons specialist of what exactly came to light. To say that it disturbed Ratchet was an understatement. It was simply too hard to believe that the two handsome twins had been the result of their gorgeous Carrier's...affair...with Mixmaster, of all the ugly mechs.

They knew that this situation was serious. Neither had been aware of who actually killed Skids and Mudflap's creator, but they had known that the twins wanted revenge for what happened. Ratchet never considered that the younglings - who had been in shock from sparkbreak and severe injury - had known of _who_ committed the act, either. The problem is that presenting them with an opportunity like that on their own wasn't just stupid, but suicidal - the results of their battle with Mixmaster proved it. This whole time, the twins were left unchecked, and now Ratchet paid the price.

At the same time, however, it would be wrong to deny anybody the opportunity for justice and closure. There wasn't anything that could be done to keep the younglings away from the battlefield, so where Skids and Mudflap are positioned is much more important, and they definitely shouldn't be without help.

What surprised and impressed Ratchet was not only their strength, but also that Ironhide had expressed _fondness_ about the twins, and that he actually wanted to hunt down the mech himself for what happened. Despite how annoying and hard-headed the twins were, even their gruff instructor couldn't ignore their endearing nature.

He looked over his datapad that explained the changes and procedures that the twins had gone through when their external frames were being rebuilt. Mudflap's left arm, right optic, audio receptors, and doorwings had been replaced. His face was also asymmetrical due to partial melting. Skids had it worse, most likely because he flailed around more in the pool than his brother; his right arm was replaced, along with several digits on his left arm. Both of his optics were removed and switched out for two mismatched ones - as they were the only ones available.

Supplies were dangerously low, however, and their critical state had demanded that they couldn't take the time to properly shape and design a lot of their materials accordingly. Skids also had most of his jaw removed, but kept enough of unharmed materials and plating to ensure that it still worked properly; and he also got new dentas. The twins both had their legs shortened due to damage, but not worth replacement. They look quite similar, but the brothers each had different designs of ped stabilizers now.

Digitalon had analyzed their frame types in their records, and suggested that they had a redesign that's more suitable for their function as footsoldiers. Their torsos were shortened to be at equal length to their legs, but also widened to take more punishment in battle. Skids also received new shoulder plating. Ratchet couldn't lie, the injuries they both sustained were quite severe, and their bodies turned out very deformed even in the final result due to a few of the replacement parts not being exactly right, or the refinery work was far too delicate to devote time to. A lot of their tools were outdated and the medics had very little material to work with - They had to cut down or sever bits and pieces of their skeletons, protoform, and armor plating alike to melt it down accordingly and reuse it because they were so desperate.

Although the twins didn't look as visually appealing like they used to, there was no doubt that they were stronger and able to withstand more together.

At this point, not much more could be done for Skids and Mudflap, so the next priority would be bringing both out of medical stasis for analysis. It wasn't going to be a pleasant experience for either party, given that smelting victims that survived would be experiencing neural memories of the experience. And they had lots of sensory circuits replaced, and the recovery from that procedure wasn't very fun for patients either. The CMO wasn't sure how either would react to their new appearances; worst case scenario would mean that both would whine and sulk about it, whereas the best that could be expected meant that the twins would take in all in stride like they did with all their battle scars. But with processor damage, there was no telling how they'd behave anymore.

First Aid was present with Ratchet when Fixit brought the two brothers out of stasis, given that he was more of the psychological expert than any other medic in the department, and he was familiar with the twins just as much as the old yellow mech.

At first, nothing happened, and the younglings remained completely still. First Aid shot a quick glance at the CMO before he looked at a data pad to analyze the processor images that were scanned to determine what could possibly be wrong. He didn't get far in his search when they heard groans, which quickly turned to keens and whimpers from pain.

… **.**

Mona blinked her dry eyes a few times, no doubt getting bloodshot from sleepiness, and she stole a glance at Leo's watch.

3:47 am

There was no doubt that she'd be cranky for the next few days but so far, this time spent is worth it. Besides, it'd be impolite to ask to leave now, after the twins had gotten to a sensitive subject in their life stories.

The least she could do for them is show sympathy, if not to just shut up and listen. It was already a brave move on their part to be opening up to a stranger and their own charge.

Personally, she wouldn't have been able to just talk about it as if it was a story with some emotional ties to it. If anything of the sort happened to her, she'd clam up and not want to talk at all.

What if something like that happened to her?

Mona pinched her chapped lips together - she wished that their extra water bottle hadn't been wasted by dumping it on each other. She shuddered at the thought of her parents dying. The young woman certainly wasn't fighting in a civil war, but even the strain of losing somebody close, without feeling physical pain from a broken spiritual bond would feel unbearable.

If there's a lesson she's learning right now, is that life was so delicate and temporary for anything and everything, and it could so easily be taken away in just a moment.

She made a mental note to call her parents when the story's over...and maybe open up to Leo more about her family. Her boyfriend seemed understanding, and equally curious.

Mona looked back up at Skids and Mudflap, who'd taken a moment's pause to gather their bearings and let everything sink in. They may certainly come off as stupid, but they could tell both an engaging and effective story that could touch a listener's emotions - at least her own.

She stifled a yawn and cuddled up against Leo's warmth more. It felt so comfy…

A hand slithered up to her hip and then stayed there.

Mona rolled her eyes. She felt ready to go to sleep just a split second ago, but she supposed it didn't matter now; she felt wide awake again. She let the hand stay though, she wasn't mad and personally didn't mind a more grounding sensation from her boyfriend right now.

"How bothered were you guys from the changes?" she wondered aloud.

The twins looked at each other, and Skids shrugged. There was something in his optics though, and it made Mona look closer. It looked like sadness.

"It wasn' so bad 's much as da pain," Mudflap answered slowly. "At leas' in da beginnin'."

… **.**

Skids had just begun onlining his optics when he was immediately overwhelmed by various sensations.

Bright light.

Ringing in his audios.

The smell of molten metal, and spilt energon.

His mouth was sore and felt like it was caked with dust and ground down metal slivers.

And pain.

Blinding pain all over his entire body, from his internal wiring to his protoform plating to his fluid pumps.

His protoform skeleton felt raw.

It was horrible.

His vocaliser let out a few bursts of static before his own whining could be recognized

Skids unconsciously turned onto his side and curled up in a fetal position in hopes to make himself feel less significant. Maybe whatever cruel God that was unleashing this torment would eventually grow bored and bother somebody else.

It still felt like his scorching circuitry had just been taken out of the smelting pool and exposed to the chilly air, and then had pure francium rubbed in.

He still thought he was partially melted and then solidifying on the cold, uneven ground. His spinal strut was still shooting pain signals up to his processor.

He then heard Mudflap's moaning as well and tried yet again to online his optics. Skids was scared to see what kind state his brother would be in, but he still wanted to look at him one last time.

The green twin was blinded for a few Kliks, but kept them open and gradually adjusted to his environment. He turned his helm to the side and gazed upon the uncolored steel of his brother's mismatched form, but relaxed when he saw that his appearance wasn't as bad as he'd thought. What bothered him was the moaning. He didn't look damaged, so what was making him feel as hurt as he was?

Skids gritted his denta, but his circuits weren't settling, they kept firing signals throughout the network to his processor, and it felt overwhelming.

"Easy." Ratchet's deep, gruff, yet soothing voice was heard nearby. "Just relax. Your new circuitry will adjust soon. Give it time."

"R-R-Rat..chet?" Mudflap's weak voice was heard next, and Skids watched his twin's blue optics online, but quickly shut from being unused to the light shining overhead.

"Don't strain your systems." The medic sounded a little irritated now, and that somehow calmed Skids down. If there were any serious problems, then the CMO would feel more obligated to show a more kind and gentle nature. And they weren't currently feeling that smothering behavior.

Mudflap was slower this time to try and take in his surroundings, and the pain he was feeling surely didn't help. The first 'Bot he set sights on was his own brother.

Something felt different from his brother though. Skids couldn't quite place it, but the utmost love and affection he'd normally see on Mudflap's faceplates was surprisingly lessened - not quite from pain, but something else. He couldn't tell since their bond was still cut off aside from feeling each other's life force.

By now, the pain Skids was feeling began to fade ever so slightly, so it was easier to focus on his brother's facial reaction. "Ugh, S-Skids," he weakly began.

"Yeah?"

Mudflap coughed out some dust and grime that settled in his intakes. "Ya look like scrap."

Skids blinked. That was his word choice? He looked like he wanted to say something different, something more...biting. Even his vocals would sound like he's teasing, but it was like a weak deadpan.

Despite everything, Skids managed a chuckle. "Look who's talkin'," he teased. He still felt bothered about his brother's behavior toward him. Something wasn't right.

They both heard Ratchet groan from their antics and muttered about ridiculous younglings and their continuous behavior. Strangely enough, it made Mudflap smile the tiniest bit, and Skids bathed in the comfort of being around everyone he loved.

Nobody noticed that Fixit left the room to give them privacy and to return to his own duties. Digitalon, however, stepped closer to the berths that the twins rested on.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your little moment, but a lot has happened in the last 3 Deca-cycles you both were out for-"

"Three Deca-cycles?!" Mudflap sat up quickly in shock, but his new plating and circuits were unaccustomed to use, and still needed therapy for proper integration with his systems. Simply put, it caused him a lot of pain, and Ratchet got mad.

"You glitch head!" the CMO raved and stomped over to push the youngling back down. "I told you not to strain your systems!"

"B-But Ratch!" Skids spoke up this time, his vocalizer sounding hoarse from being unused for such a long time. "T-Three Deca-cycles, dat's too long!"

Ratchet held up his infamous wrench and pointed it at Skids threateningly while keeping his other servo resting on Mudflap's chassis to prevent him from sitting up. "Stay down if you know what's good for you!"

"But ah didn't even-"

"You haven't moved _yet_ , but you _will_ ," he growled.

Skids didn't know anything worth saying in protest, but he didn't want to just take it silently. Normally, he would have just obeyed Ratchet without question, but somehow this felt like an exception.

"We'll see, ol' rustbucket," he rasped before coughing to clear out his intakes again. While occupied with that, he missed the change in expression the CMO had, and lowered his wrench before sharing a look with the other medic.

The way he replied...it was like he cared less of what was happening around him, and more focused on whatever goal he had in mind. He still used the nickname "rustbucket" the same way as before, but he teased less and sounded more serious. Ratchet never took offense to it - he was indeed quite old, but it still seemed strange to him.

And Skids never challenged anybody without having some sort of hint at feeling timid, or shy. He was anything but shy now.

Ratchet personally wasn't sure which kind of recent behavior was worse: Skids begging for death, or his change in personality that could never be reversed.

Mudflap spoke this time, "Ratch...do whateva' ya need ta do, but we need ta get back out in da field soon."

The medic's demeanor changed then and became more grim, and his normally gruff voice had a more edgy tone to it. It didn't allow room for negotiations. "We'll take things one step at a time, at whatever pace is needed in your recovery," he stated. "We're not cutting corners, or speeding things up just because you want it to; you know how healing processes go. It takes time, and patience."

"We can't afford dat," Mudflap looked frustrated now.

Ratchet's optics narrowed. "What's the hurry?" He already knew the answer, but he was curious to see it they'd admit to anything or not. Both Ironhide and himself were worried for the twins under this subject.

With processor damage and their new behavior patterns, there's no telling what could happen now. He felt awful that he never noticed anything before, or that their secret even got past Ironhide, but they couldn't let things like this slide anymore.

Skids stared at the ceiling with unusual interest, "Dat's not ya concern."

Ratchet couldn't stop himself from growling, "It's my job to be concerned for both of you, and not just as a medic, but also a caretaker!" His tone softened a bit more after, "You know you can trust me to help you."

Digitalon stayed silent throughout the exchange, but was paying close attention to the twins and logging any unusual changes in behavior or any abnormalities that was worth noting.

Mudflap scowled at the wall but quickly changed his expression to one of neutrality and looked at the yellow medic. "We don' need ya help in anythin' but recovery."

Ratchet crossed his arms and tapped his index digit against his bicep in a thoughtful manner, and nodded contemplatively to himself before addressing the twins again. It stung that the way they spoke was less playful and involved more argumentation, but he wasn't going to back down.

"Ironhide has relieved you both from duty until further notice. Once your healing is complete and you made it through physical and psychological therapy, then we'll all sit down and have a little _talk_."

Skids did nothing but offline his optics, meanwhile Mudflap let out a short, humorless chuckle and sighed, shook his helm ever so slightly before turning away from Ratchet.

Before the atmosphere got even more tense, Digitalon decided to step in now. Even if the twins were trying to hide it, they were very distressed. He decided it would be best to discuss how their frames were rebuilt and go over their processor damage, let them have closure of what happened, and go on from there.

He explained in detail of what happened when they were transported to the Medbay, and how their frames were dressed down and rebuilt. Neither twin showed any reaction, which also troubled Ratchet, because if they weren't cracking jokes over what caused the injuries, at least they'd show thoughtfulness or nostalgia over something.

It wasn't until they addressed the processor injuries that it changed.

"Your development and mental growth has turned static, so it's unable to change or adapt further." Digitalon spoke gently the entire time, knowing that distress wouldn't help in any case. It hurt from knowing that even as these mechs physically aged, they'd remain trapped in the same mind functions as younglings.

"And?" Mudflap pushed for more, still not looking at anyone.

Digitalon's expression looked pained from the entire situation. Because of the severe frame damage that led them being completely redone, it also meant their bodies would also stop growing. Skids and Mudflap would never stop being younglings in any sense, and it already hurt so bad from knowing it, and being unable to do anything.

He cleared his intakes before slowly continuing: "For both of you, there's moderate damage to your logic and thought centers; your fine motor skills may be less coordinated as well...until we can get to physical therapy. There's also a chance that some of your memory files were fried due to the heat of the smelter and the overload of sensory messages, but we're still unsure. Only you two can clarify if that's true or not."

And then he waited, but Mudflap only narrowed his optics at the ceiling, though it didn't appear to be out of anger or thoughtfulness this time.

Skids suddenly flinched, which appeared random to the medics, but they didn't realize what was going on over their bond. He was trying to reach out to his brother for comfort, pried through the barrier of the bond that was still being reinforced on the other side...but why? Why was his brother shutting him out?

He felt ready to panic. Digitalon was right: there was a memory problem.

He couldn't remember what his Carrier looked like.

Skids remembered her gentle voice, the feel of her soothing touch, her smell…

But her image; even her exact color seemed fuzzy to him. The best idea of her appearance he could conjure up now was a blurred silhouette of a femme.

He managed to get down the wall between him and his brother, but quickly regretted it afterward.

Mudflap was mad. He was mad at Mixmaster the most, but also directed it towards Ratchet, he was annoyed with Digitalon for little reason.

And his feelings for his own twin now...it was as if Mudflap blamed Skids for their accident in the smelting pool.

That thought was enough to trigger a physical reaction in the youngling, small as it was. He'd flinched. By then, Mudflap blocked him out again, and let out a short grunt.

From what Skids saw within his brother's head, he wasn't having horrible memory problems. The worst was probably that some seemed amplified, or more intense than they should have been. The cortex files on Mixmaster was the worst, which explained the source of his abnormal hatred. Skids was afraid that his brother would never get over it, that he'd continue hating the universe and leaving his younger twin in the dark forever.

Nothing hurt more than to be blamed by one's other half for reasons that couldn't be entirely justified.

 **~=[,,_,,]:3**

It took many Megacycles of physical therapy with Fixit before their neural circuitry was properly synchronized with the rest of their systems so they would stop experiencing random phantom pains or spasms. They had to endure many long Stellar cycles afterward to even get close to maneuvering around the way they used to with their motor movements and everything.

While the brothers retained their individual skill, they lacked the grace they used to have. It was frustrating at first, but Mudflap eventually took it in stride and accepted it.

Skids wasn't too far behind his brother in recovery, but he was still being blocked out by his brother, and it hurt even more as every Solar cycle went by.

Ratchet still checked up on them as always, but their relationships were more strained, and became less personal to avoid crossing any boundaries that could result in unwanted consequences. The medic knew the worst could be hurt feelings, but he was already too bothered with the personality changes in the younglings that he didn't want to deal with anything more.

And then the twins had moved on to counseling with First Aid.

The first few sessions had not gone well for either party, and it was all anybody could do to prevent any issues from turning into physical disputes.

Mudflap refused to accept any words he was given, and didn't let anything get through his mental barriers. He seemed to only want to stew in his own thoughts and feelings forever. All he wished inside was for Mixmaster to die by his servo, and he wanted to savor every moment of that.

It wasn't until later that First Aid noticed something unusual. Even though the twins never strayed too far from each other, there was still some serious tension going on around them. He tried a different approach by talking to each of them privately a few times to see if anything new would happen.

While Mudflap reacted differently and became more mellow and collected, he still refused to talk much.

Skids was the first to spill everything. If he had been the same as before, he'd have been hysterical and uncontrolled. But when he let all of his feelings out, his tone of voice was more level, and even cold, albeit broken at times.

He talked about how he'd been constantly blocked off by his twin, and what had happened that one time he got through. He remained honest about everything, only leaving out anything regarding Mixmaster. He was never going to be comfortable talking about it.

The one time he almost broke down was when he mentioned his Carrier, and how he'd forgotten what she looked like. His voice had taken on a more harsh one, but his facial expression remained the same: focused, but pained and angered at the same time.

Everything he talked about helped all the medics make better sense of what was going on with him, Mudflap, and their relationship as twins.

It took them several more Meta-cycles of further therapy with the twins both together, and separate to use their knowledge effectively and get Mudflap to talk as well.

The conclusions they had made based on their observations and what Skids had described had been accurate.

While that helped First Aid to come up with ways to help the twins individually, and let Mudflap sort through his thoughts and feelings, the brothers had grown apart after leaving their bond closed for such a long duration of time.

They would never be the same as before. The twins would become become completely different 'Bots compared to their former selves.

It took another Deca-cycle before Mudflap had been able to manage his anger and to stop directing it at others. His thoughts cleared up, and he decided to open their twin bond again.

But Skids was caught off guard when it happened, still grieving and trying to cope with all the overbearing emotions and trauma. He suddenly felt naked and too open, so he put up his own barrier, much to the frustration of his twin.

That led to being counseled by First Aid with group sessions again to help their relationship as brothers improve.

The young medic knew that there was only so much he could do for them - he could help guide them, but it was ultimately up to the twins to decide how to behave and treat each other from then on.

Even when they both found equal ground and agreed to keep their bond open again, there were still hiccups in their relationship.

Before their mission that went wrong in Kaon, they used to joke around with each other, whether it's to annoy their own brother, or somebody else. They hardly ever did that anymore. The closest they'd ever get was petty debates, nitpicking, and constant bickering.

They understood each other quite well once again since the bond was always open, but they couldn't stop expressing some form of competition, or the friction between them.

Eventually, Ratchet and his team decided that it was the best they could do for the twins, and the rest was up to them, and whatever adaptations they were capable of from thereon. Given the processor damage, their recovery timing was painfully slow, and that could have been a factor in the mutual frustration, but there was still one final thing to address before the twins were released back to duty: their confrontation with Mixmaster.

Both Ironhide and the CMO wanted to discuss the conflict with Skids and Mudflap before anything else was done.

Surprisingly, the discussion had started when the twins asked about the Decepticons, the latest news and Project: _Harbinger_.

It turns out that the Decepticons had indeed been constructing a ship, but different from the _Nemesis_. It was designed to carry precious cargo including the latest technology and prototypes that was rumored to strengthen the faction's ranks, or cause great devastation.

One thing they'd figured out was that the ship had been completed a while ago while Skids and Mudflap were still recovering. Its location had been kept secret, but a new disease had been designed by Shockwave while onboard that ship, a project that was personally overseen by Megatron.

Cybonic plague.

Ratchet's medbay had long since been overflowing with patients that he didn't know how to save. The best he could do was treat a minority the symptoms, but was unsure how to expel it from a 'Bot's systems. It was frustrating and painful to see so many sparks extinguished long before they should have.

But there was an even bigger problem.

The disease hadn't just infected Cybertronians, but it eventually mutated and spread to the scraplets, some wild hives of Insecticons, and groups of Sparkeaters. It wasn't long until it had developed into something nobody could contain at that point.

Ratchet dubbed it Cosmic Rust, and it had begun to infect Cybertron itself. Soon some energon deposits the planet had produced had gone bad, became poisoned. The disease was rapidly making its way towards Cybertron's core, and to make it worse, the Decepticons weren't trying to do anything about it. If anything, the evil faction had been working on a way to fire Cosmic Rust from a gun.

Recent intelligence had also revealed that they have nearly finished building several spaceships meant to go off planet for a very long time.

As of late, the Autobot's numbers had quickly depleted, and eventually had to quarantine everyone that was infected with either of the two diseases, and they were beginning to construct their own ships.

However, everybody was frustrated, and even a little worried over everything, especially the Weapons Specialist and the CMO themselves.

The twins knew that with the news update finished, there was little that could prevent addressing the conversation they dreaded.

Mixmaster.

What were they supposed to say?

Mudflap was ready to fall back into his old habits and stop talking altogether. Only Skids prevented him from doing that, but also wanted to tell the truth. However, his brother disagreed.

While they were having a private argument, Ratchet watched closely while Ironhide studied the surface of the table they all sat by.

"When did you first meet Mixmaster?"

That seemed to stop both in their tracks, and they quickly remembered that their confrontation with the Constructicon had all been on the recording device.

It meant Ratchet and Ironhide knew all the facts, but only wanted more in-depth views about their relations to the other mech.

Both twins shared a look. Mudflap had a hard expression, but Skids held his ground against his brother, and turned to the elders. "The only other time we saw 'im was when he offlined ah Carrier," he said quietly.

Mudflap glared at the table. "He left us fo' dead after dat," the other twin added.

"Ya gotta understand," Skids started. "It's personal; he took our only Creator away from us." It was clear to everyone that even if Mixmaster genetically contributed to their existence, he didn't deserve the title of Sire, or Creator.

"We know how much that hurts," Ratchet reassured them quietly. "Believe me, we do."

It was Ironhide's turn to speak. "However, it's too dangerous for you two to remain alone together, especially if your only focus is revenge. That can blind you." He didn't talk about the many comrades in arms that he'd lost to the Decepticons because they didn't care about living as much as killing their mortal enemy.

If such a thing happened to the Twins, he'd never forgive himself.

"...If you two want to take on the Constructicons, you can," the two perked up. "-On the small chance you'll find them again. Just don't do it alone. You have teammates for a reason, and we can back you up." Ironhide knew determination when he saw it. Although he didn't want the twins anywhere near Mixmaster, there was little he could do to prevent any opportunities for the younglings. His best bet was to avoid creating further friction in their relationships by not attempting to dissuade them. That way they would be less resistant to having extra company in the field and potential combat.

The matter of that situation was finding somebot that was compatible for long term relations to the twins. An idea of having mechs assigned shifts and changing off briefly crossed his processor before he discarded it. The twins would only feel like they're being babysat, and that wasn't the point with such an idea.

Ratchet spoke up, "You don't have to suffer alone anymore. You have us now, and we'll do everything we can to support you."

If Skids and Mudflap could cry for joy, they would have.

Their vents nearly shuddered from the raw emotions that were coming out because of the genuine, caring words.

It was so unlike Ratchet and Ironhide to behave or talk that way, but Skids was willing to take anything he was given. Mudflap tried to behave more reserved, but even the clarification that Ironhide would actually _help_ them was nearly overwhelming.

Ratchet didn't appear to have known Ironhide's idea beforehand - it showed on his faceplate - his servo formed a fist and protested. "I'm not certain that having them so close to combat...given their situation...is a good idea."

Ironhide looked Ratchet in the optic. The Medic had clearly thought that they were on the same page, but this didn't turn out the way he expected.

"Ratchet," Ironhide addressed him. "We all know how they feel." The CMO couldn't reply. They both knew how their respective situations ended a long time ago. Their closure wasn't on the best of terms. The elder mechs prayed that few bots would have to face anything similar.

Besides, Ironhide found on more than one occasion that when someone's out looking for trouble…

They always find it.

But Ratchet knew that no such scenario revolving around revenge could possibly end well, either. And looking back, Ratchet personally regretted focusing solely on such a personal issue instead of the bigger picture. The consequences, needless to say, hadn't been very rewarding in the slightest.

He only hoped that Skids and Mudflap would have the sense to stop, otherwise they'd better hope to get lucky.

 **~=[,,_,,]:3**

Tap-Out was the Autobot chosen to stick with the Twins. They hardly agreed on much besides a common enemy, and Ironhide had begun to wonder if he'd made a good choice with the mech.

However, it couldn't be denied that the trio fought well together when they were out in the field. Plus, the Twins seemed to picked up some grappling techniques from their companion - and Skids did very well in handling the grappling gun - which made training more interesting together.

While everyone complained about being unable to get along, it hadn't escaped Ratchet's notice that the Twins exited battle with less injuries than they used to. Nothing seemed to come with consequence, as Tap-Out hardly had a scratch on his armor unless he'd recently brawled with the Twins.

This time, a signal had been picked up by Blaster and sent to Prowl for processing. He then developed an estimated guess based on the evidence that they'd finally discovered the _Harbinger's_ location.

Such news was exciting for the Communications Officer and Tactician, it simply came up at an inconvenient time. Most of the Autobots were focusing the majority of their attention and resources on the All Spark to keep it away from the Decepticons. For the time being, they had several squadrons of troops in Tyger Pax to guard the great relic. Meanwhile even more troops were stationed at Simfur as a distraction to keep Megatron's attention on them, as if _they_ actually had the All Spark.

A limited number of teams were left at Iacon - besides guards and security - on standby in case anything of interest came up, Ironhide's team was among them. It was just their luck that Prowl selected them as the best candidates to investigate the possible location and cripple the Decepticon forces. Ever since the Twins went back out in the field and Tap-Out joined, Ironhide's team worked their way up to one of the most successful divisions - given their diverse expertise and differences in rank and department.

"Listen up," Ironhide barked at his squad, demanding their full attention. "Prowl has shared some intel that suggests the current location of the _Harbinger_ lies near the ruins of Crystal City. Our goal is to investigate and gather information. We will later regroup and report back to Prowl, who will give us further instruction on how to carry on with the mission, whether it's sabotage, invasion, or retreat." He sent the twins a hard look that meant all business. "And you're all going to follow given orders without question or hesitation. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir!" The group chorused. Tap-Out merely gave a curt nod in understanding.

Ironhide then turned and signalled Wheeljack to open the groundbridge. With the exception of the engineer, all mechs transformed into their alt modes and drove through at a brisk, speedy pace.

As last seen, the large mass of rubble that was once a beautiful, prosperous city still laid in ruins. The Twins had never been in this sector before, though they'd seen "before" and "after" images of what had happened. It was also no secret that the Constructicons had been involved with Megatron's plan of destruction.

"Fan out," Ironhide's voice halted all thoughts. "I doubt the ship would be hidden in the city, but perhaps somewhere just outside the boundary lines."

It made sense, there were still plenty of standing buildings within sight around the city, but had been long ago deserted for fear of also being destroyed. Even several of those skyscrapers had been demolished some time ago.

"Sooo...it could be 'idden in one o' those suspicious lookin' warehouses 'round 'ere?" Mudflap joked.

Ironhide and Tap-Out shared a look, "It very well could be," the former admitted. "But don't eliminate other possibilities; the Decepticons can be quite creative." He focused back on the Twins. "Since you're focused on the warehouses, you can search by those within communication range. I don't want you and Tap-Out wandering further without authorization."

The trio saluted, "Yes sir!" and transformed to drive to the nearest warehouse as Ironhide listed off the duties of the other mecha.

As usual, Tap-Out remained silent. He rarely talked to the Twins on a mission unless he was helping to direct them in a firefight, or the rare moment when he had to drag them back - either from their imaginations, or back to the team.

They slowed to a stop near their first warehouse, which was quite a fair distance from their rendezvous point, but not an unreasonable area. The team transformed to their bipedal mode - the Twins casually walked up to the front doors while Tap-Out proceeded with his guard up - their usual approach.

Skids took the time to knock in mock-politeness, which seemed to humor Mudflap. "Well," the orange twin shrugged, "Guess no one's home." He made a sweeping bow that oozed playful sarcasm. "Femmebots firs'."

Skids placed a servo on his chassis and changed his vocalizer settings to imitate a femme. "Oh no, afta you, dear brotha."

They grinned and shared a look, passed an idea over their bond, and turned to Tap-Out. "Would ya do da honors?" Mudflap offered while he gestured toward the towering doors with his servo.

Tap-Out rolled his optics. They seemed to have no care for their safety most of the time. He opened the left door a tiny bit and peeked in. No movement. He opened it a bit more and braced his left servo against the door as he scanned over the interior; in his right servo was a miniature plasma gun.

Without warning, a shot was fired from within the warehouse. It passed under Tap-Out's left arm and nearly grazed his torso. On instinct, he recoiled, "Slag!"

Skids and Mudflap quickly came to his aid and blindly fired inside based on a rough estimation of where the laser came from.

But there was nobot to be seen. Tap-Out stopped firing for a moment and scrutinized the warehouse that was filled with gigantic machines and vehicles covered in tarps for later use. Movement caught his optic near the far wall near what was presumed as a cargo transporter.

The supposed figure wasn't visible, but he saw the outline where it didn't completely match up with the background behind him. It seemed like the figure inside was attempting to bend light around himself as a means to blend in.

"Mirage?" he guessed aloud.

He was answered with more rounds pouring out of their opponent's weapon, and he took cover whilst shoving Skids out of the way as he waited for his weapon to cool down.

"Not Mirage." Mudflap answered for his teammate as he managed to land two shots on the Decepticon and disabled his camouflage.

It's not like the camo or what it did matched up with Mirage, but it was the only Mech they knew that could do that.

Their attacker turned out to be a Decepticon, not that the trio were surprised at this point. Tap-Out squinted at the dark figure for only a moment before he recognized who it was.

There were very few Cybertronians in existence that had white optics.

Mudflap was more grudgingly impressed with the mech's sharp and angular armor. Skids just wondered how the figure didn't cause himself any damage yet with all the spikes that jutted out of his plating.

"Makeshift," Tap-Out growled. The Decepticon was better known to take on the forms and appearances of other Cybertronians, but nobody knew that he could turn invisible. Perhaps it was with the help of engineering and a new handy device.

There was no doubt that Shockwave could come up with something like that.

From what Tap-Out had heard of the _Harbinger's_ purpose, he could guess what kind of "precious cargo" it'd carry. For all anybot knew, it could even serve as another private lab for Shockwave himself.

None of that is something the Autobots can allow, or they fear what could become of the Decepticon's work.

Skids and Mudflap straightened up on higher alert when they heard the name. Unlike Tap-Out - who'd had plenty of horror stories to tell - the twins haven't met the 'Con, but have heard enough to know he's a genuine threat.

The looming dark figure abruptly turned and transformed into a ground vehicle and hightailed it out of the building through a previously unseen backdoor.

There was little pause before the twins and their companion pursued Makeshift by vehicle mode as well.

" **Tap-Out to Ironhide,"** he hailed through the comlink.

" **Report."**

" **Discovered the Decepticon called Makeshift and currently in pursuit. Permission to engage?"**

" **Granted. I'm sending backup."**

"Whoo hoo! We's sendin' him runnin'!" Skids shouted triumphantly as he drifted out of the warehouse and regained traction so he could pick up speed and get closer to catch their opponent. And he was gaining ground.

Makeshift was larger but the twins were smaller, and lighter to allow for less air resistance; their engines were also more powerful, so they were ahead of Tap-Out in the chase.

Before they knew it, they've passed so many rocks and boulders in the rough terrain that they've also left the warehouses and ruined city behind and have made their way into mountainous areas surrounding the city's ruins.

It was such an intense chase with Makeshift finding ways to leave them little surprises on the already difficult setting that it was hard to tell how much time had passed. There was a constant risk that one could flip over because of hitting a nasty bump.

After rounding a mountain's base, Tap-Out could catch a glimpse of a decent sized facility hidden against the metallic rock-like formations. Large enough to hide an entire ship somewhere, but small and hidden enough to not be detected by air surveillance.

And that's where Makeshift was leading them.

The trio of Autobots knew this was easily a trap they're walking into, so Tap-Out swerved behind a large boulder and urged the twins to stop out of the Decepticon base's range until reinforcements arrive.

They didn't want to listen though.

From intelligence gathered, the Constructicons were assigned to continue working on the _Harbinger_. If that ship was hidden within the facility, their enemies could possibly have time to evacuate the base before reinforcements even arrive.

Not only is it important to destroy the _Harbinger_ , but the twins needed to see Mixmaster again. They were desperate for another fight with the Mech that offlined their Carrier, they needed vengeance. They needed closure.

"Skids! Mudflap! Wait for backup!" Tap-Out shouted, but was promptly ignored.

He weighed his options. It was very likely that the Decepticon's special cargo ship was somewhere within the facility and had to be destroyed, but the twins could get themselves killed if they kept going without assistance. Tap-Out knew the likelihood of the Constructicons being there, as well as other 'Con troops. Not to mention Makeshift…

Tap-Out growled. He was assigned to protect and help the Twins, it's why he's still with them. He quickly checked his radar, and took comfort that their reinforcements would arrive soon.

As long as they didn't face any interesting surprises on the way.

Then he sped out from behind his hiding place to continue after the twins. They'd likely need his cover fire until more help comes for them.

Skids kept pace with his brother as they passed through the gates that didn't close behind Makeshift. Definitely a trap.

Good thing they knew that then.

The duo slammed on their brakes and halted once they were inside. They transformed back into bipedal mode and had their weapons ready at hand as they snuck deeper into their enemy's territory; they'd lost track of Makeshift.

It was also noticeably dark and empty where they were. Is this place already abandoned…?

Skids picked up on the sound of a roaring engine before Mudflap, and quickly turned to see it was Tap-Out. "Ohh, so ya did follow us afta all!" he teased. "Yay! We's got backup, brotha!"

Their companion transformed with his weapon ready. He's never appeared more livid than he is right now.

"You two are in big trouble when we get back to base." he clipped out his words in a deceivingly calm voice.

A shot was fired and nearly hit Tap-Out. The twins reacted by running closer to where the shots came from, and Mudflap returned fire as they kept going.

Tap-Out noticed there was an absence of available cover, so could only mimic the tactic Skids and Mudflap were doing. Judging from the angle the round were fired, their opponent was on an upper floor or a catwalk of sorts.

That meant there was a large object of _some_ kind within the walls of this base.

The shots suddenly ceased and they heard retreating steps until there was silence in the room again. Skids wondered why they were being lured further into the base instead of being finished off right here.

"Stay here," Tap-Out snapped. "Let reinforcements arrive so we can pack more firepower against them. I know you two want revenge, but-"

"Dat allows 'em time to escape!" Mudflap argued back. "Da Constructicons are 'ere. I can feel it, and dat means da _Harbinger's_ here too."

Tap-Out's lip plates set in a grim line. If Mudflap could subconsciously sense that a Constructicon is nearby - or more specifically, his Sire - that's really concerning. Ratchet suspected that something like this would come up.

When sparklings are produced, they share a bond with both creators, and often have a stronger connection with their Carrier. But over time, the bond they have with one of their creators may fade significantly, even die out quietly if they're separated for a long period of time.

This is especially applicable to Sires who never bond to their sparkling's Carrier.

Skids and Mudflap never knew their Sire when they were birthed, and it was assumed that the bond had faded away forever because nothing had been reinforced.

But… Tap-Out wondered if something awoke or reestablished inside the twins when they were around Mixmaster the first or second time.

Ratchet needed to be notified when they got back to base.

In the meantime, the three turned on their built-in flashlights and rushed further into the facility. Tap-Out found a way onto the catwalk above them and they dashed into the next room, which was lit and one wall was lined with windows.

Skids moved forward to glimpse through and was met with the sight of a very, very large dark grey ship that had yet to be painted. But it looked finished.

Its appearance was daunting, but at least it wasn't as big as the _Nemesis_. Still, this was bad.

With something this size, Tap-Out explained the only likely way to destroy everything is to blow it all up.

"Well," Skids began. "We ain't got bombs."

"We can improvise," Mudflap replied and pointed out one of the windows. "Look."

The other two peeked out to see what he was talking about. "Fuel tanks," Tap-Out shook his helm minutely. "This should be fun."

"I don' see any 'Cons," Mudflap murmured. "We's got a chance at dis."

Tap-Out nodded. "Then let's not waste time." He pressed the panel next to the door to open it and slipped through with the twins following close behind. Skids and his brother knew their companion was locked on his current target, so it was up to them to ensure he wouldn't get shot in the back. They hadn't forgotten this could all be a trap.

It was awfully suspicious that the tanks were left out unattended like that. They weren't in plain sight, but it was just… weird.

Nobody was seen or detected though, so it got to a point where Tap-Out paused and looked around for himself. There was movement behind a stack of crates and the Autobots instinctively fired upon it. It nicked the Decepticon drone and it retaliated with its own gunfire before Mudflap shot its helm off.

Then they were ambushed by at least fifteen more drones and Makeshift. Skids and Mudflap instantly took out two drones and Tap-Out took on the Shifter. The drones knew the minibot was more of a threat than the twins, so the Autobots did their best to cover their companion.

After five more fallen drones, Makeshift had lost a servo to Tap-Out, who'd been stabbed in the abdomen from the talons of the 'Con's other hand. Another drone had also managed to shoot him in the shoulder - thankfully not his dominant side.

Makeshift swung at his opponent and Tap-Out managed to duck in time as he crouched and swept the Shifter's peds out from underneath. A drone accidentally blasted the 'Con as he went down and hit him square in the chest plates, barely missing his spark. Then the spiky Shifter and Tap-Out started wrestling and rolling around trying to gain leverage over the other.

In the meantime, Skids and Mudflap took out three more drones so the remaining five stopped firing erratically at Tap-Out and turned their attention to the twins. Skids left his brother's side to rush at them and Mudflap provided cover fire. He successfully offlined one drone as Skids jumped at one and stabbed it through the spark chamber with his new sword - moves that would make the Terror Twins proud. Skids quickly swung at another, who ducked and was then shot down by Mudflap. The fourth lost a leg to Skids's sword and the fifth was shot dead by Mudflap's canon. Skids looked down at the drone who lay helplessly on the grimy floor and stared. The 'Con had its arms raised in surrender but didn't move, possibly from the shock of losing a limb.

Skids glanced back up and noticed that Tap-Out was now bleeding energon from deep gashes caused by the spikes on Makeshift's armor. And the 'Con had their teammate pinned on the ground as he prepared for the killing blow.

Without thinking, Skids threw his sword as hard as he could and it managed to slice off Makeshift's other servo. A feat that surprised everyone in the moment. The Shifter stared at the stub on his arm for a moment before redirecting his attention on Tap-Out again.

The minibot managed to get free underneath him though, and delivered a hard kick to the 'Con's faceplates, sending him staggering backwards.

Skids was engrossed watching the fight that he didn't notice the last drone still on the ground had lifted his blaster and shot him in the face.

The green twin collapsed on the ground, clutching at his face and screaming in agony as Mudflap fired one last time and shot the drone's helm off.

As Skids was comforted by his orange counterpart, they looked back up and saw Makeshift unconscious on the ground. Tap-Out stood victorious, though weakened.

The minibot noticed that Skids was injured, so he quickly slapped cuffs on Makeshift - and ensured they wouldn't slide off the stubs on his arms - before rushing over to make sure the younger 'Bot was okay.

"Lift your servo off, I need to look at it and assess the damage." Tap-Out was frustrated, but did his best to sound gentle.

When Skids removed his servo from his face, the burn damage was minimal, but easily seen. The majority of plating along his lower jaw then broke off and fell to the ground. All three stared down at the parts in shock.

Mudflap looked at his twin again. "Can ya still talk?"

"Ah t'ink so." Skids replied, his jaw was barely existent. "I'mma nee' t'erapy."

Mudflap quickly shushed him and Tap-Out advised Skids not to aggravate his injury too much, that this mission will be over soon and he'll get to see a medic.

"Tap-Out?" Mudflap asked the minibot. "Why didn' ya offline Makeshift?"

"He's a Decepticon spy," he answered easily. "If we can get him into Autobot custody alive, there's a lot of information we can get out of him." Then he brought his attention back to the fuel containers.

When he determined everything around them was clear, he took aim from a safe distance behind a crate and fired several times at a tank.

They'd expected some kind of explosion to knock them off their peds, but nothing happened.

The tanks were empty.

Tap-Out's optics narrowed quizzically and the twins were equally puzzled. "Da frag?"

Mixmaster suddenly appeared from a shadowed corner and fired from the left side where Tap-Out was unprotected. The minibot was hit in the back and he toppled over, energon poured out of his wounds faster.

The twins both retaliated with their blasters yet again, but now found themselves surrounded by all of the Constructicons - one of them bent down to pick up Makeshift and went aboard the _Harbinger_.

The 'Cons closed in quickly and the twins realized how futile their situation was. They didn't think their backup was going to get here in time, either.

Mudflap also noticed that none of them were moving to strike them either, though their rounds were pretty much bouncing off their armor harmlessly, so they paused.

The smirk on Mixmaster's face was subtle as he limped towards them, but was still noticed and Skids could swear that he felt the satisfaction rolling off the 'Con's frame in waves. At least the twins could also feel proud that they've permanently crippled their sworn enemy.

Meanwhile Tap-Out was curled up in a fetal position nearby the twins, his entire frame shaking from pain and shock of losing so much energon. There was a frighteningly large puddle of it around his body.

Yet another being that their unrightful Sire was taking away from them.

"Are ya happy?" Mudflap spoke up, sounding tired. "Is dis what ya wanted?"

The smirk slowly faded from Mixmaster's faceplates, which was enough to answer the orange twin's question. He wasn't happy.

He was very disappointed, almost crestfallen and nostalgic. Frustrated, even.

This revelation of such emotions both surprised and disturbed the twins, enough that they slowly lowered their weapons.

Mixmaster looked away, gazing into something distant. "Perhaps… things could have been different… if your Carrier had stayed." This comment made his Constructicon companions shift their stances and gazed at the floor. They clearly knew something that the twins didn't.

The behavior seemed so unusual to Mixmaster though, especially when compared to his abrasive and goading attitude towards them and their Carrier the last time they encountered each other.

What's changed him so much?

The Constructicon seemed to sense their question and looked at them again. "She designed this ship," he spoke in a soft tone as he trailed a servo down the _Harbinger's_ side. "She dreamt of the time she'd get to see it completed, of how she'd celebrate all her hard work put into it."

Mudflap and Skids couldn't hide the stricken looks on their faceplates.

Their Carrier had been… a Decepticon?

The revelation hurt them, in more ways than one. Neither of them were able to deny the words; they felt them ring true in their Sire's voice, felt it within their own sparks.

"And all the Autobots knew who she was, who you two were birthed by," Mixmaster looked at the twins' friend. "Even him."

Tap-Out let out a long, shaky sigh and pressed his forehelm against the cool, dirty floor as the 'Con continued.

"Yes, I remember how your Carrier explained it to me right before we fought that Solar Cycle. She'd encountered an Autobot mech named Ratchet and his pet minibot here. And somehow they tricked her into believing the Decepticon cause was meaningless and completely immoral, that nobody in the faction would care if she ever got hurt." The Constructicon nudged the small bleeding 'Bot with his ped, making him groan in pain and agitation. "Isn't that how it went, Tap-Out? I know you remember that time very well," he crooned. "It's not often you get to turn one against their own cause, is it? She was as loyal and caring and innocent as they come. And you destroyed all of that. She held that loyalty and care towards no one but her own creations and she no longer held her trust and innocence," he sneered. "And yet you claim that Decepticons destroy things."

The twins remained shellshocked and unresponsive. All of this was… incredibly emotional. Too emotional for a 'Con that hated their Carrier one Orn and then seemed to care the next.

"You was gonn' bond wit' her, weren't ya?" Mudflap asked quietly.

Mixmaster grunted, "On the very same Solar Cycle she'd left, that same one she spoke to those Autoscum."

"An' it took ya a few vorns to track 'er down," Skids guessed next.

"Far too long!" Mixmaster snapped. "By that time, she'd long since raised you to believe something you should have decided on your own. And your interference in our battle destroyed any chance for me to simply exhaust her and then try to convince her to return. You two," he pointed a digit at them accusingly. "...You two reignited her willpower to fight me to the bitter end and forced my hand. Now this!" He gestured to the ship. "This is all I have left of her!"

"We didn' wan' her ta die anymore dan you did," Mudflap defended weakly.

"An' we had los' just as much as ya did at da time," Skids added. "If not mor'."

"Do ya have any idea wha' a broken bond feels like?" Mudflap asked him.

Mixmaster vented and spoke more calmly, more gently, "Of course I do." There was a long pause.

"That's why I established a creator's bond with you two in our first encounter."

The twins blinked up at him in disbelief.

"I didn't like you two, and I still don't. But you were too young at the time to lose your Carrier and you would have died from that kind of sparkbreak without support. I had decided at the time that... if you two were ever to offline, you should have the choice on how it would happen."

That was why he'd acted the way he did towards the twins in their second encounter. When they came, he knew they came for vengeance. He accepted that he deserved their hatred and any pain they bring for what he did to their Carrier, and his intended bondmate.

He had vowed that he'd give them the chance to live in the moment and die at a later time. And if possible, they'd have their own hand in the circumstances of their deaths. He had thought it was fitting and something they deserved. A choice.

When he'd knocked them into the smelting pit, he could feel their agony through the bond, not much different than when he'd fueled their rage towards him through that same bond during their fight.

He was so sure at the time... that the next moment would be the end of it, that they'd melt into slag in the smelting pit after their fight, but he was wrong. And the longer time went on, he realized that they must have been pulled from the pool, because they clearly hadn't been melted into scrap yet.

That's when he alerted the rest of the Decepticons of Autobots within their territory.

It was the second time he'd felt… regretful about his family. There could have been a faster and easier way to kill them for sure. Deep down, he knew they wanted nothing more than to rejoin their Carrier, and Mixmaster believed that the least he deserved was the pain of sparkbreak from losing his own twin creations.

"Why didn' ya just let us die wit' 'er?" Mudflap asked in a broken voice. "When we fought ya da firs' time, we made it clear we was willin' ta die."

"That was blind rage," Mixmaster argued. "You weren't truly thinking, and that's how I know you would have preferred to be alive still. To avenge your Carrier."

"You subjected us to a life of hurt and cruelty!" Skids yelled.

"Perhaps," Mixmaster said slowly after looking at one of his other Constructicon companions. "But it doesn't have to be that way anymore."

The twins looked at Tap-Out, who was shaking less now and seemingly close to death, then looked at the floor. "Are ya gonna kill us?" Skids asked.

"I can," Mixmaster replied coldly. "Or you could choose to join us."

* * *

 **I'd actually intended to make this chapter a couple pages longer. But since a year's gone by now, I thought this was a good stopping point. Chapter five will be a bit shorter than this so you have less to cram down your throat now.**

 **I've also been pleased with how my poll's been coming along on my profile page since I've been gone.**

 **Anyway, hi guys... it's been a while. How've you been? Good?**

 **Well, I've had an interesting time since I last posted (which was like... over a year ago). I'd say it was a roller coaster of emotions for a while and I think I got a little bit of a taste of what insanity feels like.**

 **And what I mean by that is kind of weird. But for those of you that are curious, I got my "first boyfriend" not too long after my previous update. The reason I put it in quotations is because we "dated" for about two months and only went on, like, one date. Then I tried to break things off in December of last year.**

 **Here's some background: I met him in speech two years ago and were in the same category for creative expression. He was an endearing fellow and often seemed to enjoy listening to me talk on and on about my fanfiction ideas and what I could do with my writing. In fact, he seemed to enjoy listening to me talk about myself more than anything else. What I didn't realize at the time was that it was likely a tactic for me to lower my guard and trust him (I've had serious trust issues in real life since a very young age... but that's a totally different story). He also liked to follow me around A LOT. That was a big red flag that I ignored for a long time.**

 **...He was a really creepy dude though. At first, he seemed kind of awkward and charming, but... he made my skin crawl after a while. Especially after he tried to take advantage of me...yeah, it was kind of bad. My parents don't know about it and wonder why I seem to hate the guy. They liked him.**

 **Then I went through a total boyhating phase and a sense of paranoia that I couldn't trust any person that was male (in real life anyway). In cyberspace, they can't touch me.**

 **But while I was dating my "first boyfriend," I had a classmate who sat in the back of the room and ignored the teacher, instead choosing to play games on his laptop. And he liked wearing leather jackets.**

 **Do you guys see where my life was going in this? XD**

 **Anyway, the guy who wears the leather jackets was somebody I immediately categorized as a weirdo who was probably heading nowhere in life and had this expression on his face that made him look like a total douchebag. All the time.**

 **We ended up getting partnered in gym class to play badminton against other teams.**

 **I suck at sports. And what I failed to realize is just because he didn't care about class didn't mean that he wasn't competitive.**

 **We lost 7 rounds in a row. XD And he got really pissed because I was ruining his reputation. So in a weird way while I was dating the creepy guy, this jerkwad of a classmate pretty much made my day because of how amusing he was when he was angry.**

 **He called me a "peasant" once or twice, and it even got to a point where he practically insulted me in front of the class (I was laughing through all of it, by the way) until the teacher made him stop talking. Then a red haired guy in my class - he's a class clown, by the way - abruptly called him a "dick," and the teacher admitted that she had to agree.**

 **And... let's just say that this class comedian is one of those people that teachers rarely see eye to eye with, so you can already tell that the leather jacket dude totally stepped out of line when a teacher actually agreed with him on something.**

 **Then I later learned that the leather jacket dude had a crush on one of the captains on my speech team (I found out through another guy that just happened to be friends with both the leather jacket dude and me, let's call this friend "John"). At first I thought it would be funny to try and sabotage them, but then I decided that was mean and put forth my efforts to make them a couple. Yes, I can't resist cuteness... and I hoped that pairing the douchebag with someone would make him a happier person.**

 **Well, it got to a point that in my efforts to get him together with this girl, I got to know him a bit (and he had calmed down around me after a bit of time), and I found out that he couldn't stay mad at me. The reason was because the way I acted in certain situations was the same way he would've done it, even though it was annoying for him to be on the receiving end... so he developed a grudging respect for me.**

 **Somewhere along the way, I passed promising information to "John" about leather jacket dude's crush possibly being single. Well, "John" ended up giving my phone number to him as well because he had more questions to ask about this. Both seemed very surprised that I'd simply walked up to the girl and asked if she was dating anyone. She's my captain; I'm comfortable around her. XD**

 **Anyway, possessing my phone number led to leather jacket dude texting me on occasion and eventually he thanked me for helping, but he'd rather deal with the rest on his own.**

 **We didn't stop texting each other though. I think you guys know where this is heading.**

 **By this point, I was starting to become infatuated with the leather jacket dude (and I was still dating the creep), and the leather jacket dude started treating me like a respectable friend.**

 **And when I finally broke up with my "first boyfriend," I realized that I really liked the leather jacket dude. But he liked another girl. This is where I started going a bit crazy because I became afraid of my feelings. My poor dating experience with the first dude made me afraid of what could happen if I started dating anyone else later on.**

 **So... I started plotting to abduct and... get rid of the leather jacket dude. (I know, it's really messed up)**

 **Heh, I didn't realize at the time that he was going through his own crisis of which girl he liked more, me or the speech captain.**

 **Let's fast forward a bit. I gave up on planning to kill him because it got to a point that I liked him too much to do that, and part of that was because we still kept texting back and forth. Spring break rolled around, and I went on a trip down to Arizona to visit an aunt with my mother and little brother.**

 **Oh, what an experience. Climate differences, mountains, cacti, desert... it was actually quite beautiful. I just found it uncomfortable to wake up in the middle of the night dehydrated because of how dry the air was and had to keep a water bottle nearby.**

 **I spent about four days down there and were always busy. I even got to hike up a mountain - I believe it was about 2,000 feet or something. That was when I figured out I was allergic to sunscreen. That meant that my face swelled up and my skin that was exposed to it turned rough and bumpy. It didn't close my airway or threaten my life at all, so it was just hilarious to me. XD**

 **By the time we got back from vacation, I was scheduled to get my wisdom teeth yanked the next day. It wasn't a horrible experience, I actually thought it was alright. I recommend the surgery to those who need it. (although I've seen and heard cases of people who get emotional or goofy from anesthesia, I wasn't one of those people. I was mild tempered and calm and I actually remember a lot from before, during, and after surgery)**

 **During spring break, my creepy ex texted me about possibly getting together and hanging out (he liked to claim to others we were still friends). Even though, you know, he didn't ask for consent or permission when I was in a vulnerable state around him and not in my right mind...yeah. I wasn't intoxicated or drugged, but I didn't get more than a couple hours of sleep in several nights, so I was really out of it at the time.**

 **Anyway, I was ordered to rest and had pretty good excuses to play nice and get out of hanging out without... upsetting him. (Note to girls AND boys: abuse and the idea of taking advantage of people doesn't discriminate between genders! Anyone could be the victim and anyone could be the abuser. Be very careful when you're around new people).**

 **I was put on some really strong painkillers after the surgery and was back to talking with the leather jacket dude. Yep, him. It eventually got to the point where he just dropped the question on me, a very simple question.**

 **"Do you have feelings for me?"**

 **I spent the next ten minutes panicking and unable to think due to painkillers. I tried to think of any way to dodge the question because, you know, the idea of relationships scared me. But in the end, I'd confessed to him and he revealed that he liked me too.**

 **And then we turned into the kind of couple that scares people because of how weird we are... that's also a long story.**

 **We've been together for about 9 months now and I can say that I've come a long way since my mind state before. He's also more than proven himself to be a very affectionate and supportive partner in that time. He's also one of the few who knows all my deep dark secrets and what I've been through in life. He can be a boyfriend, and he even does a better job with encouragement and taking care of me than my parents do (also another story).**

 **With all bitterness aside, we've been on some very interesting and somewhat creative dates. I'll just talk about the most interesting one though, it was the first date.**

 **He took me to a gun range.**

 **It was a one-time experience that I'll never forget. I had no prior experience with firearms and it was definitely worth my time (for those who haven't handled guns before, they can have quite a kick to them, so always be ready for the recoil if you ever try them out).**

 **Now, we're both still under 18 and were at the time, so we had a chaperone with us, but it was his brother in law, and he's also pretty cool. Chaperones really aren't that bad, either. I didn't know the guy, but he was an adult with experience, so I felt safe there and a lot more comfortable than I would have been if it was just the leather jacket dude and me.**

 **For the sake of still keeping this chapter shorter than it could have been, I've left out some quirky details. I usually don't talk about myself anymore in author's notes because I'm convinced that most readers don't care, but I wanted to do it this time.**

 **And to those who actually read through this insanely long author's note that talks about the basic summary of my previous year, congratulations! You're a person that most likely cares! The world needs more curious people like you out there, and I'm sure your family and friends are proud.**

 **I'm counting on chapter 5 not taking nearly as long as this one, so that'll be awesome for everyone. And then I can begin the story for what I have next. Once I'm finished with the next chapter, _Suffer With Me_ will be concluded, and I will show you guys some "trailers" I threw together for my two different choices for upcoming fanfictions I write. It'll either be Tron or Transformers.**

 **I appreciate the amount of patience you guys have had about my lack of updates. I think I'd be among the few authors that doesn't have to complain about readers that immediately demand more chapters after they've read the most recent one.**

 **I've also said this to you guys before, constructive criticism is always welcomed with my writing. You don't have to worry about my feelings, I work in retail. I have thick skin now. Complements are nice, but it's something constructive in reviews that I find the most motivating. I'm certain there's something you guys can pick out of this chapter that I could improve on.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Toodles.**


	5. The Pipe Dream

**Kind of a rookie mistake, but I ended up hitting "post new chapter" before I realized that I wanted to tag on some author's notes. It's okay, you can laugh - I'm laughing too right now. It feels so good to finally wrap up this story. And once you're done reading, I'm going to declare the winning side of the poll I posted on my profile oh so many years ago.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **The Pipe Dream**

"You can't be serious," Leo exclaimed. "The Decepticons never bargain, they never claim to care. And then they just… out of the blue, decide to offer you guys an opportunity to join them?"

"Dat's how it happen', man."

Mona looked from Skids to Mudflap a couple of times, taking note of similarities and differences in their frames. It was like she just noticed it for the first time, and it provided a distraction from her senses going haywire. At least her clothes were almost dry though. That helped.

"Tell me what happened to your face after it was shot," she prompted Skids. Of course, he didn't have to answer anything if he didn't want to.

Skids looked surprised. "Well… as we's said. Most o' mah jaw fell off, leavin' only da basic frame behin'. Lost a couple dentas too." He smiled with his large buck teeth for emphasis. "They don' fit well, but I make 'em work." He paused and then added with a hint of pride, "Dis one's special." He pointed at his gold tooth. "It's fo' good luck." And Mona smiled at that.

"But," Leo looked thoughtful, he still couldn't let go of the absurdity of Mixmaster's gentle and almost sympathetic behavior in their story. "There was nothing odd going on in Egypt, nothing personal between you guys and Devastator - er, the Constructicons, I guess. I just don't get it."

"Like we wasn't family and weren' even upset about death and destruction within it?" Mudflap finished for him.

Skids then piped in. "Dat was a couple millennia ago… you'd be surprise' wit' how long our family can 'old grudges, but even dat's a long time. The only fight dat's survive' dat long is da war itself," Skids explained, paused, and then added. "Everythin' abou' dat war… da cause… wha' happened… how da 'Bots split and chose sides… all of it was personal. It's personal for da faction leaders, and now it's become personal in da eyes of humans."

"Despite our newfoun' peace wif Mixmaster," Mudflap started. "Everythin' is still personal to us."

"Everythin's personal ta you." Skids bickered out of the blue.

"We's twins, stupid! Of course everythin's personal! I knows ya feel it too!" Mudflap snapped back.

"Okay, okay," Leo interjected before they started arguing. "So what decision did you guys make at the time?"

 **...**

Skids and Mudflap glanced at each other in uncertainty and then looked at the Constructicons. They looked like a very tight knit group, like close friends - maybe even family. One question that crossed their minds was if they'd ever truly belong among that group.

What they've craved the most since their Carrier died was love and acceptance, but they didn't quite get one or the other during their stay with Ratchet and the Autobots… they never really fit in.

The idea was tempting, but it also looked too good to be true. They'd be accepted as part of something, but would they ever be able to love their Sire, or for him to see them as family like he sees the Constructicons?

With that, they're not so sure.

On the other hand, they're outnumbered and injured. A death threat hangs over their helms if they reject Mixmaster's offer.

The Constructicons surrounding them stood quietly and patient as the twins took their time to conjure up an answer in their best interests. From what Skids could see, some of them looked eager for an answer - one even looked hopeful, but the green twin couldn't figure out what the 'Con was hoping for.

Mixmaster was unreadable, but he held an intense gaze on his faceplates and didn't take his optics off the twins. He looked like a mech with great responsibilities, and had just as many expectations of others. He definitely holds everyone around him accountable for themselves, and that was something the twins could respect.

They just don't know enough about their Sire though to make a sound decision. What were his reasons for joining the Decepticons? On what level does he actually care about them? And why did he only decide to give them an offer now? Their newly discovered bond with him is silent and faint on his end, meaning he'd closed it. It wouldn't be helpful in providing answers at this moment either. They weren't sure if it was to prevent bias from him, or simply because he didn't care enough to connect with them - Mixmaster said it himself: he didn't really like the twins.

 _That doesn't mean he doesn't care for our well-being to a certain degree._ The idea hung in the bond between both brothers.

Now that they know it's there, the twins felt starved for another open bond, like the one they had with their Carrier. They knew not to hope that Mixmaster would ever open up, but it's something they want deeply for both the sake of love and trust, but also for closure regarding their Carrier.

The twins knew they had to say something, or the 'Cons could decide to take their silence as a no. They weren't certain of what they wanted more right now: justice or belonging. But at the very least, they could try to stall a bit until they get a better idea.

"We don' know anythin' 'bout ya, or why yous are all 'Cons in da firs' place," Mudflap stammered. "Death don' mean nothin' to us, but please, at leas' say why your offer means somethin'."

Mixmaster then looked thoughtful, as he carefully digested Mudflap's words. "Perhaps… we could relate," he suggested, turning briefly to look at his fellow comrades. A few Constructicons nodded at him in some form of silent agreement. He then turned back toward the twins, "I'll only give you the basic story about us, but I'm sure you won't have much trouble understanding."

Skids couldn't tell if it was meant to be an insult or simply a means to introduce his story but nonetheless, it was a statement that served a purpose.

"We Constructicons were built, not born," Mixmaster began. "It was while the caste system was at its most powerful - and most corrupt - time. We were all designed to be drones, built in the same factory and were sold together as a package deal." He let out a small chuckle. "I don't think our former masters ever expected us to develop emotional centers or to evolve into more autonomous beings."

Mixmaster gestured to another Constructicon, one who had a confusingly hopeful expression on his faceplates. Skids recognized him to be the same mech that was yelled at by Mixmaster back before the twins attacked their Sire by the smelting pool. "Hightower," Mixmaster introduced. "He was once the most rebellious member of our team. The smartest too."

Mudflap felt confused, as he also recognized the 'Con to appear as their dumbest member.

"That was, until one of our masters gave him too harsh a beating, and led to severe processor damage," he revealed. "He always cared more about learning than to do his actual job - he craved education that had been just out of his reach."

The twins stared at the seams in Hightower's helm, indicative of what had been inflicted upon him so long ago.

"He'd been battered, broken and abused far too many times to count and all it took in the end to drive home a point, was to inflict blunt force trauma to the helm," Mixmaster continued. "Not that it could have mattered to anybot at the time. We were lowly slaves, and to beat us was a condoned discipline in the eyes of the council and any other high class Cybertronian."

"At least until we were all liberated by Megatron and his movement," Longhaul added. "It was an easy choice to join the Decepticons after."

"He was amongst the "lowest of the low" because of his previous gladiatorial status," Mixmaster finished. "So we all pledged our allegiance to the cause and its founder."

"So, wha's our Carrier's story?" Skids asked.

"Hers wasn't as cut and dry," Mixmaster spoke. "She grew up in the middle class; never quite liked the wealthy and sympathized for the low-lives, but she still saw all Cybertronians as one species. It always made her feel like she was stuck between both sides in the war but she stayed with us because at the end of the Solar cycle, we were fighting for our freedom and the Autobots were trying to oppress us."

"It didn't hurt that she was in love with you too," Longhaul added in dryly and made the twins want to cringe.

"Di-Didn't take much for h-her to le-leave the 'Cons," Tap-Out whispered. He was still curled up on the ground, shaking from energon loss and likely going into shock at this point.

Skids glanced at their partner, "Maybe... she jus' wanted to keep us out of da war." It sounded reasonable to him.

"She shouldn't have kept you two from me!" Mixmaster argued.

"Well it happen'd anyway!" Mudflap snapped.

Skids stared at Tap-Out, unable to look away. He and his brother felt confused over how he had a role in splitting up their Sire and Carrier. But he felt bad that he was dying right in front of them and there was nothing they could do. Especially not with the Constructicons standing by and waiting for any sudden movement.

Mixmaster sighed, "It doesn't matter anymore. All we have left is each other and I was foolish to not see it earlier. As family, we must stick together and build our own bridge. It'll all be as it should have been."

This was their cue to decide.

"Skids, Mudflap," Mixmaster rumbled. "Are you with us or against us?"

The twins looked at each other again as rapid communication passed through their bond. Then they turned to Mixmaster with solemn expressions.

"I… we can't," Skids whispered.

"We understand why you's wif da 'Cons," Mudflap elaborated. "But from how we see it, da Decepticons don't stand fo' da same t'ings as they did at da start of da war. They bombed da Youth Sectors a few Meta-cycles ago and we don' condone dat. It's not what _we_ stand for." He looked at the ground. "I'm sorry." And they both knelt next to Tap-Out with their servos resting over his frame.

Mixmaster ex-vented as he too rested his gaze on the ground for a few moments. Then he looked back up at the twins as he and the other disappointed Constructicons stood up a bit straighter. "I'm sorry too."

The giant cannon on his back warmed up as the twins braced themselves for the shots. Whatever comes, Skids and Mudflap vowed, they'd face it one last time next to Tap-Out, just like they did before, and they each grasped the barely conscious Mech's servos.

They flinched when shots were fired, knowing that it was for them, but there was no impact. They looked up and never felt more relieved than that very moment when they saw their backup arriving.

Ironhide was at the front and center firing both his cannons at the Constructicons that were circled around the trio, forcing them to back away and isolate themselves further from other bodies. Then everyone from the Terror Twins, to Gears and Mirage were raining down gunfire in hopes to both disable their opponents and to draw attention away from Skids, Mudflap and Tap-Out.

Skids saw that poor Hightower was taking the most damage, clearly the least agile of the group because of his processor damage. He felt bad for the Mech, as he completely understood the Constructicon, but he stayed planted next to Mudflap, now covering Tap-Out's body from any stray gunfire.

Mudflap however, was noticing Mixmaster and the rest of his team were trying to fall back and make their way into the _Harbinger_. Then he understood that his teammates weren't really trying to hit the Constructicons. For now, they were trying to keep them from getting aboard the completed ship because if it successfully launches with its passengers onboard, then it's game over. That ship could be used for anything and the Autobots didn't want to take that chance.

"Skids!" Mudflap shouted. "We need to disable dat ship somehow."

"We can't blow it up!" Skids replied. "How're we gonn' do dat?"

Mudflap thought for a moment. What was something they could do…

What are they good for? How do they take part in this battle? What did Ironhide teach them?

Then he got the idea and fully opened his bond with Skids. They could try the same way they almost beat Ironhide in training, the same way they crippled Mixmaster.

"Too many 'Cons," Skids protested. "We's outnumbered. We'll be killed."

"I'm not talkin' 'bout combat," Mudflap explained as he examined the pillars that were spread around the perimeter of the chambers. The twins weren't very smart, but they understood enough to know what was load bearing in a building. "If we take out da supports, the rest topples and everything gets damaged." He turned thoughtful. "If we do it fast while da 'Cons are occupied, we can bring down da whole building before the _Harbinger's_ engines are fully warmed up."

Skids immediately bolted towards his fallen sword and readied his grappling hook. "Got it."

The Constructicons weren't on board the ship yet, but they were a bit closer. This can buy the twins some time.

The idea was to focus primarily on the pillars by the giant gate. It was the ship's only exit point and if they can block it off at the very least, it would be trapped inside. But the goal was to take down enough support so the ceiling would also collapse and damage the ship.

Skids aimed and fired his grappling hook just above one of the pillars so he was at level with the top. Then he got to work with his sword and his blaster.

Mudflap huffed and puffed all the way to the pillar closest to him. He aimed his gun at the middle of the pillar and opened fire.

When he was almost through, he felt optics on him and he dared to look back.

Mixmaster was staring at him, and it only took moments for their Sire to figure out their plan. The Constructicon got down on all fours and opened fire at the orange twin with the cannon on his back while the other 'Cons provided cover fire.

Mudflap focused on dodging all the incoming rounds instead of focusing on his own target.

Then he heard something. While running and jumping around, he tried to figure out what that sound was until he looked at the _Harbinger_. The engines were warming up. He wondered how that was possible because the other Constructicons were being blocked at the moment. And then he remembered the one Constructicon that had carried Makeshift aboard the ship. He was still in there.

Horrified, he forwarded the information to Skids and the rest of their team.

" **Skids! What in Primus's name are you doing?!"** Ironhide barked over the comm.

" **We's gonn' collapse da roof an' trap da ship."** Skids explained.

" **Abort! You'll kill us all."**

It was the only plan they had that could stop the 'Cons and the ship, and all the Autobots knew it.

Yet again, the twins decided to disobey orders. They truly respected Ironhide, but they couldn't let the _Harbinger_ get away. They were grateful to have had a meaningful spark to spark with their Sire, but their newfound love for him will not stop them from doing their part in this war.

And they knew their creator felt the same way.

It's tragic that their family had to be divided like this, but Skids and Mudflap were willing to try anything to prevent this ship from leaving and bringing more harm to Cybertron. Even if that meant killing everyone inside.

Skids ignored Ironhide's orders and completely broke down his first pillar, then moved to the next.

Mudflap fired a few more rounds at his own pillar while trying to dodge Mixmaster's rounds. There was a fair distance between both Mechs, so it was easier to predict where he needed to be so he wouldn't get hit. His own pillar toppled over.

Then he got another idea. Mixmaster's rounds were much stronger than his own. If he somehow got the Constructicon to hit the pillars instead, this would go much faster.

And he suspected that he got his own bad temper from his Sire.

"Is dat da best you got, Mixmaster?" he goaded.

As it was, their adversary had been agitated because his rounds was missing the target. He roared in frustration and willed his rounds to fire faster and to carry more power. In no time at all, his recklessness and lack of precision had knocked down two more pillars in the time Skids had knocked over his second.

It seemed that thoughtlessness came from their Sire's side of the family.

The ceiling was very slowly starting to sink down from the lack of support, and the Autobots had no choice but to back up closer to the door they'd come in from while they tried to maintain fire. Meanwhile the Constructicons got even closer to the ship.

Skids looked up while his brother was busy dodging Mixmaster's rounds. As the ceiling sunk lower, it seemed to pick up on its speed downward.

Ironhide could see it too, and the imminent danger that it would bring. He ordered his troops to redirect their fire onto the Constructicons and he focused on Mixmaster.

He was infuriated that the twins once again disobeyed, but he did not want to leave them here to die. He was going to buy them some time to regroup with him and his men so they could evacuate together. Tap-Out looked offline already. And sadly, it wasn't worth another 'Bot's life to try and save his body.

The Constructicons all took their chance to run aboard the ship and close the hatch.

At that moment, Ironhide got a comm from Blaster. He halted his firing altogether as he listened intently. Then he messaged all his team members.

" **Abort the mission. Abandon the building and regroup to Iacon."**

Mudflap was shocked.

" **But dey'll get away! We can' let da** _ **Harbinger**_ **leave!"**

" **For once! Just listen to what I'm saying! The All Spark has been jettisoned off planet in Tyger Pax just now. We need to evacuate; regroup at base."**

" **We can't, Ironhide. We's sorry, but we're gonn' stay behind to keep fightin'."**

There was no reply to them.

The ceiling sank lower and faster. It started to crumble and chunks started raining down. This building was so old and rundown as it was that it should have been condemned a long time ago.

" **Please don't do this, you two. This is your last chance."** At this point, Ironhide sounded resigned. There was no stopping the twins when they made up their mind.

" **Go."** Mudflap quickly replied to the commanding officer.

Skids glanced down at Tap-Out and noticed he was staring at Mudflap. He trotted over and knelt by their partner one last time, Mudflap joined after a few moments to hold his servos again.

"I-I'm sorry," Tap-Out gasped. By now, he was barely clinging to consciousness.

"We's sorry too," Skids replied with full honesty. They wished things didn't turn out this way.

Anytime Mixmaster was around, the twins lost someone they grew close to.

First it was their Carrier.

The second time, they lost touch with each other.

Now, Tap-Out was dying.

The little teal mech finally allowed his optics to offline and his helm lolled to the side as his strength left him completely. Then his frame lost its vibrancy in color.

"'Till all are one." the twins spoke in sync as they gave their final farewells to their friend, and stood.

Then they pulled out their blasters again.

To them, time seemed to pass slowly but in reality, things were going much faster. The engines were now fully warmed up and the ship was ready to fly.

The twins saw no weak spots on the outside, but Skids spotted a little vent near the aft of the ship that they could possibly sneak through.

If they got inside, they'd have a chance to destroy the control panel.

More of the ceiling above was crumbling, so the twins ran towards the ship. It started to lift off the ground once they reached it and lurched forward faster than either twin anticipated.

Acting fast, Skids grabbed Mudflap's servo tightly and fired his grappling hook at the ship. It took hold, and whiplashed the twins as it pulled them along at a high velocity.

The device in Skids's servo managed to pull them upwards so they were inches from the ship itself.

As the ship neared the exit, the ceiling finally started to collapse completely, and chunks started to rain down everywhere.

Despite all that, the ship - with the twins in tow - managed to clear the exit with only a few dings and scratches. And from there, it sped up even more and rose higher from the ground.

Mudflap didn't realize he was afraid of heights until this moment.

"NO! No no no no no!" he started flailing around and was wrenching Skids's shoulder as he struggled to keep holding up his brother. At this point, they were at a height where they hypothetically could survive the fall… but they had a higher chance of dying from the impact.

"Mudflap! Stop it! I'm havin' 'nough trouble tryin' ta hold us bof' up!"

But the words did nothing to help his twin, as he panicked even more. The amount of strength Skids had to hold on to his grappling hook was waning and he refused to let go of his brother - his other half.

The wind up here at the speed they were traveling were also throwing them around like a couple of toys. Skids really wished they thought this through better.

One more jerk against his straining servo will-

He let go.

Both twins screamed as they fell. The ship shrunk in size as they neared the ground.

When they impacted, everything went dark.

…

"It's just that hard to kill you, isn't it?" Leo asked. "Seriously, how are you two still standing after all that?"

"We is blessed by Primus," Skids boasted. "You jus' jealous."

Mudflap looked bashful at this point in their story, and Mona sympathized for him. It's hard as it is to talk about your own fears. "You know, I'm afraid of heights too," she confessed. "It's actually a very common fear on earth. You don't need to feel ashamed over that."

"Only time heals," Mudflap muttered. "I'm gettin' bett'r though."

"It's beside da point d'ough," Skids pipes up. "Dat was jus' one of a few times we rang death's doorbell an' then ditched." He chuckled, "He probl'y hates us as much as da nex' person does."

"How'd you guys survive that fall though?" Mona asked.

"Eh. We was put into emerg'ncy stasis while self-repairs went ta work. Saves energy too," Mudflap explained.

"And while all dat happened, da other Autobots were preparing fo' da great exodus," Skids added.

"Why leave?" Mona quizzed.

"Oh, Sam told me about this," Leo piped up. "See, this All Spark was a special artifact that was supposedly the key to saving their planet after it was poisoned. But it was jettisoned off planet so the Decepticons wouldn't get to it."

"Seems counterproductive to me," Mona looked skeptical.

"It was really a power play in the end." Leo shrugged, "Whoever has the artifact has all the power, including the fate of their world. In the end, Cybertron went dark and became nothing more than a dead, empty lump of metal."

"It's still painful ta remember," Skids commented. "We was out of range of da search 'n rescue teams. D'ey neva found us, so we was pronounced dead along wif Tap-Out. When they launched da Ark and other space ships, we was left behind."

"By da time we woke up, Cybertron was cold an' empty," Mudflap shuddered at the memory. "Imagine dat you two ended up being one of da last people on earth. It's very lonely."

Skids took over the story again. "After so much wanderin' we started to despair but as fate had it, we ran inta Jolt." He shook his helm. "Dat had ta be one of da luckiest moments we ever 'ad."

"We dunno how long we was in stasis, but it was a very, very long time," Mudflap elaborated. "Jolt had jus' finished building a ship from nothin' but scrap, an' dat takes a while. But he checked us out, helped wif some repairs and told us he was headin' ta Earth to help Optimus."

"We was so excited to hear Megatron was finally offline," Skids piped up again. "But it also meant dat there'd be trouble fo' dat planet. Decepticons are vengeful. We was happy to tag along fo' da trip ta get off planet and he was happy to bring us along."

"Ironhide had our afts though once we arrived," Mudflap grimaced as he spoke. "He whooped the livin' daylights outta us, but it was so good ta see 'im again."

"An' come ta think of it," Skids began. "No one knows what happened to da _Harbinger_. But shortly afta our arrival to earth, we ended up facing off wif da Constructicons once again."

Mudflap gave Mona a cheeky smile. "You shoulda been there," he said smugly. "It was so awesome how I used my kung fu moves on Devastator and busted his face up."

"At leas' before da humans delivered da final blow," Skids said soberly.

Mudflap nodded and rubbed at his chestplates where he once had two parental bonds, "'Till all are one."

"You really loved Mixmaster?" Mona asked tentatively.

"We's always had mixed feelin's, not limited ta hate an' despair" Mudflap mused. "Of course we still love him - he's our Sire. He really did care…" he trailed off.

"He… jus' didn' care _enough_ ," Skids finished for him.

And they sat in silence for a while. Story time was over.

Mona glaned at Leo's watch.

5:24 am

She exhaled quietly through her nose. "You know," she started, looking up at Leo. "I've never pulled an all-nighter before."

He gave her a sheepish smile. "Uh, it's a rite of passage in college?"

"This whole staying up late thing won't become habit in the future, will it?" she pressed with a little smile.

"Not as long as I have any say in it," he reassured her.

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek in response and than smiled at the twins, who were elated from the positivity. "Tonight was all sorts of interesting, I guess. But… thank you for your time. Both of you."

On the ride back to Leo's car, it was uncomfortably silent though. Mona turned to Leo. "You know," she began tentatively. "My family was all kinds of dysfunctional, but I do miss them. I didn't realize it until now though; I was too busy enjoying my newfound freedom and trying not to think about them."

Leo listened to her intently. It was one of a few rare moments when he made sure he recognized when something was important. After all, he was capable of acting as an adult, but he only did it in ways that mattered to him. He's well aware that once he's graduated from college, he can no longer play the role of drama queen.

He was smarter than he let on, and in the wee hours of the morning like this, he felt just as sober as he was in the immediate aftermath of Egypt.

Mona never talked about her family, and made a point in the past to avoid the subject. So Leo knew that this was definitely worth listening to.

"And... well, after I heard the story from your twins," she continued. "I realized that I can't keep pushing them away like I have. Because if I lose them before I ever have the chance to say I loved them, I'd never forgive myself."

She chewed on her lip in thought. "My parents urged me a few weeks ago to come home for Thanksgiving next month," Mona turned to him with a quizzical look. "How would you feel about being my plus one?"

Leo took her hand closest to his and held it. She was cold, so he scooted a bit closer to help warm her up. "I'd be happy to. I'll be there whenever you need me."

She smiled back, "Thank you."

Skids rolls to a stop then.

"We're here?" Leo asked as he unbuckled himself.

"Uhhhhh…" Skids is at a loss for words.

Leo peeks out the window. "Where's my car?"

"What?" Mona asked in confusion. Where would his car have gone?

Leo opened the door and stepped out. Skids had stopped just behind where Leo recalled leaving his car. Except all that was left was some tire tracks. He scowled.

"Y-Ya know, Mudflap an' I could drive you both back," Skids tried to placate.

"Shit! Shit shit shit," he started pacing and then abruptly paused to pat himself down. He checked every single one of his pockets and even peeked into his underwear. Whatever he was looking for, he didn't find it. He took a deep breath, and then yelled so loudly that his face turned beet red.

Mona stared through the window during his tantrum.

"Of course I'd leave the freaking keys in the car!" he picked up a piece of gravel on the roadside and chucked it. "I thought it was going to be a short conversation about the restraining order I have on my twin guardians but noooooooo. I just _had_ to leave my freaking keys in the freaking car _all night_!" he picked up another rock and threw it in anger. "And that's just _asking_ for someone to steal it!"

He took another deep breath - this one to try and calm himself down.

Mona kept staring.

Leo hung his head and turned around to face his girlfriend. "And they took my grandmother's picnic basket."

Mona quirked an eyebrow. "It was a fabric grocery bag."

Leo turned red again. "Well! Well… they took your blanket too!"

Before he started another tantrum, Mona decided to say her part first.

"Leo?"

"What?"

"...I'm still tired."

* * *

 **Well, there you go! A humorous conclusion to _Suffer With Me_. I'll be honest, this was a painful story to write towards the end because of writer's block and a lack of encouragement from the majority of readers (I'll take partial responsibility for even that though). I've always had a fascination to tackle specific characters that are on the side and never get enough depth for people to know who they truly are and what they're capable of. Of course, the consequences to this is that I decided to write a story about very unpopular characters - of which the majority of the Transformers community strongly detested. I can understand that, so the point in writing this particular fic was to encourage people to keep open minds as much as possible.**

 **So, I decided to write a story to portray Skids and Mudflap as characters who are good for more than just comic relief. They can be the heroes of their own story even if they're extremely flawed characters. They have been through so much in a long, bloody civil war that nobody has stopped to think about why they are the way they are. And I wanted to emphasize that yes, even Leo Spitz can have his moments of maturity - he's human too. But, in the last couple of chapters, I went off track from the plan. I still achieved the plot I had drafted in the beginning. But I added a new twist.**

 **I talked more about the theme of family and how they can be valuable or hurtful. This theme, I should add, is one that I think I'll be going deep into for my future fanfictions. Which leads me to my great reveal of the blind poll that I posted.**

 **My next story - Tron or Transformers?**

 **The Tron community won by 11 to 7, so... sorry, Transformers fans. Once I'm finished with my 7 books for the _Torn_ series in TRON, I'll then get to work on the Valor Project in Transformers (You're in for a treat, too. It'll be over 30 books long by the end). XD**

 **Yes, readers. I aim very high as a writer.**

 **Take care, folks! I'll see you around.**


End file.
